Prisonic Requiem
by Hack.Drawer
Summary: The occupants of Wickem Sanatorium knew this would be their last home - but which one of them is the actual killer? Their mental illnesses become part of his sick game as he intends to clear out the sanatorium for his own amusement - but as nights continue on, it's clear that the killer has a different reason for his madness. AU COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

: 1 :

Wickem Sanatorium was located within a thick grove of trees, nestled so firmly within the crevice that most of the second story windows overlooked grey, mottled cliff walls. The road leading to it was obscure, hairpin turns ensuring its isolation. Funded by the government, it housed those that were labeled 'insane' and untreatable – a drop-off for mental illness cases whose family members could no longer provide assistance for. The institution was enveloped within high stone walls formed by man, and allowed for a few gardens, a separate housing for laundry and kitchen staff, and a smaller guardhouse near the main gates that kept an eye out for possible escapees and incoming visitors.

Surrounding islands contributed to the funding of the sanatorium by sending over 'unclaimed' persons, or were paid handsomely by wealthy families to take care of someone they could no longer care for, themselves.

Wickem's design was the result of a reclusive millionaire, who left behind his mansion and his riches to the treatment of 'handicapped' patients – the moderations to the building were made eventually. The First Floor was comprised of metal doors, bars over windows, locked corridors, with a hallway that extended clear through; only accessible by two keys in the hand of a guard standing post. The front lobby was encased within wood and glass, where the public or those visiting their family members could only access. It was cared for and decorated lavishly – it looked more like a parlor than a carefully guarded visiting room.

Also on this floor were the doctors' shared offices, a staff break room, and a small, general medical ward. The staircase was accessible through heavy metal doors, opened by a pair of keys at the same time. That staircase lead to the Second Floor, where the patients' rooms were located, as well as their break room, a dining room, and an entire medical ward dedicated to patient care and experimentation. The lavatory had no doors, no privacy, and all the patients were closely monitored as they used them. Their rooms were comprised of approved things; with small slots for windows near the ceilings. The doors were locked in open position during the day, and locked at night, for 'patient safety'.

Kitchen staff could access the dining room through an elevator that, too, was opened by special key. Electricity was made available using winding machinery that took some time to charge by hand. They were located too far away from the main town to have poles necessary to carry electricity.

Deep within the mansion's basements were solitary cells for the most unruly. It was concrete walls, damp floors, and light only accessible by winding the generator box near the main door. Three padded cells with bars faced the main door. While some illnesses of this time had been identified, the patients here hadn't any definite treatment; there were still some examinations to do, tests to perform to see what worked best.

These were the 'unsavable' patients, unfit for society.

Dinner was a small affair; for six patients, the table was large enough to fit them all comfortably. Staff distributed a plate in front of each man, all instructed to sit still until all were served. The two guards on hand shifted into monitoring stances throughout the dining room, clutching batons as the two kitchen workers worked quickly. Two large, burly orderlies stood with their arms crossed at the windows, measuring the tension in the room. here was one nurse present, fumbling with the hem of his shirt as he worried nervously over possible reactions. There were currently six registered patients in the asylum, but one of them had been confined to solitary for nearly a month due to 'bad behavior'. Presently released, the sixth patient agitated the others.

Most of them wore what remained of the clothing their family sent over; a couple of them wore plain wool clothes that staff provided. While the asylum was considered their home, most had hopes that it were only temporary, until a 'cure' could be found. While restless, most knew exactly what they were there, for.

Dinner was simple and plain – containing an item from each food group, steamed or baked, with nothing special on the side. A tin cup was filled with milk for each man, and kitchen staff retreated without a glance back. The single doctor on duty looked over the servings with a critical eye before giving an impatient, "Eat."

As he usually did, Monkey D. Luffy tore into his plate without using his utensils, stuffing handfuls of mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli in hastily. His disorder was unnamed for this time – but he suffered from intense delusions, one of them being that he was an 'invincible rubber man'. He was currently working with a broken arm, a bandaged head, and a casted left foot. He tended to think he could smash through walls with a punch, or break furniture with his head. His human body was easy to break and split, giving medical staff a hard time in keeping up with these injuries. His hyperactivity was too much for one person to handle – he couldn't seem to 'slow' himself down to operate. He wore a plain, weighted vest each day – then switched to a heavier one at night, in hopes of wearing him down.

To his left was Ussop – his disorder refused to let him do anything without repetitive gestures and movement. He could not pass through doorways, halls or the like without tapping in perfect orders of three to six; three to pass, six to return. He could not eat without doing so, and tapped three to six depending on his choice of food. Six for meat, three for vegetables, six for sides, three for bread. Each tap had to be controlled and perfectly 'sounded' – if not, he had to repeat the tapping until it was to his satisfaction. He tapped six with his four fingers of his right hand before taking a bite of his chicken.

Next to Ussop was Ace, Luffy's brother. A pyromaniac that nearly burned down half of his hometown, his parents had been desperate, as any sight of flame happened to 'control' him; he was captivated by it, controlled by it. He had to be closely monitored, as he tended to try and 'steal' it whenever he passed by candles. The ones in the dining room had his attention until he was allowed to eat, which he did with the same enthusiasm shown by his brother.

Across from Ace sat Roronoa Zoro, who heard voices from people who weren't there, reacted to hallucinations in a flat, heavy manner. He sat in his chair and stared down the table, head tilted slightly as he listened to somebody that wasn't there. Occasionally, he'd grunt or mutter, but no one was sure what he'd said. The jumbled sentences he offered had no relevance to the subject matter, and occasionally, he spoke of something that one had yet to reveal. He was sensitive to insects and anything that was 'unclean'; but if he weren't closely watched, Zoro had a tendency to let himself go uncared for, offending those standing or sitting close to him.

Next to him sat Sanji Vinsmoke. As soon as his plate was sat down in front of him, he picked up a fork, but found every dissatisfaction he could with the content. He struggled to keep himself in perfect order, hoping that the next time his family visited, they'd finally approve of him. As a result, he came off as uncaring and selfish, not bonding with any of them. Unlike everyone else, he wore a stiff dinner jacket over meticulously pressed clothes; slacks that looked brand new, and a pair of loafers, as shoelaces were forbidden. He looked as if he were only stopping in for the night, if not for the unhealthy appearance he carried.

Next to him sat a catatonic man that stared blankly ahead, operating stiffly. His blue eyes barely blinked until one of the nurses set his hands onto his utensils and forced his hand onto his plate. Mechanically, he ate without looking at his food, scooping content without examining it. Once his mouth registered the heat of the potatoes, he set his spoon, still full, down on his plate and didn't move another inch. Most of the staff called him 'Penguin', for the waddling action he made as he walked. His mute state made it difficult for the asylum's doctors to reach him, other than treat him as the others.

At the head of the table sat the only man that unsettled the asylum's staff. Recently released from solitary after convincing another patient to kill himself, Trafalgar Law examined his plate with a cursory frown before looking at the others at the table with a snooty expression, standing out in a faded red shirt and faded red linen pants. He sat in his chair with his legs crossed atop, leaning over the table with both elbows. His lip curled as he watched Luffy demolished his plate, and Ussop tapped out his beats, and Penguin stared at nothing with bits of mashed potatoes on his chin.

A month in solitary had left him pale, dark circles around his eyes standing out harshly, his frame thin. No longer allowed around society because of his selfish, sadistic actions, Law was fated to spend the rest of his life in the sanatorium; escaping several brushes with the justice system that demanded a proper answer to the crimes he'd committed previously. But his family money paid for his release and funded his treatment, and instead of preying on the unsuspecting public, he preyed on the patients that were trapped in with him.

He looked at each patient with careful assessment, hands settled on each side of his plate. He lingered the longest on Penguin, who did nothing in response to the noise or stimuli around him. The nurse that touched him earlier prompted him to eat again, and he mechanically scraped his plate with his spoon.

"I am expected to eat without a utensil of my own, Dr Smoker?" Law asked, startling Ussop out of his tapping. Frustrated, he tapped out six before taking a careful bite of his meat. Luffy glanced over at Law's plate, already finished with consuming what was on his. Ace hissed at Luffy to catch his attention, and held a finger up with warning.

"You don't need one," Dr Smoker said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared down at the man. "You went a month without, you can do it again."

Law looked down at his plate once more, and then looked at the others. It was an unidentifiable mess – as if someone had mixed all the contents of dinner into a bowl and slopped it onto the plate without care. "Mine is…different. There is something a little extra about it."

"Kitchen staff might still be a little upset over your last stunt. It can't be helped."

Law frowned, shaking his head slightly. He did recall sending a plate back to the kitchen with a complaint about how unappetizing the meal looked, but to further express his dissatisfaction with it, he'd included a friend of his, too; a carefully dissected mouse, with its insides decorating the entire plate, splayed out over the meal. Staff had felt that he'd threatened them. He considered reaching out to snatch someone's utensils, but they were seated at least a chair width away from him. If he made a sudden move, the guards would be on him quickly. He couldn't risk his freedom, just yet.

He leaned onto his palm, considering where to start with his plate. Then looked at those seated in front of him. Luffy was reaching over and taking some of Penguin's food; Zoro was mumbling under his breath to someone sitting next to him; Sanji was staring at his plate with a curled lip of disgust, using his fork to separate half bites to the edge of the plate and pushing it all back for something else; Ussop was counting beats to his next bite; and Penguin had stopped shoveling mashed potatoes because of Luffy's action.

Law then looked at Ace, finding the freckled face pyromaniac looking at him with narrowed eyes. He found reason to abandon his plea for a fork or spoon.

"Ace-ya," he drawled, smiling slightly. "Long time no see, buddy."

"Don't get friendly with me," Ace warned him. "Ain't nobody here that wants to talk to you."

"Yet, you returned my very polite extension for some dinner conversation."

"Tch," Ace muttered, glaring at him venomously. "Ain't nobody here forgot what you did to poor ole Apoo."

"I did nothing to Apoo-ya. Everyone here has free will to act on their own choices, and he chose to act on his own decision. But you say 'forget'? Penguin-ya, do you remember what happened?" Law asked, watching for any sign of recognition in that blank face.

Penguin said nothing, nor reacted to the attention set upon him. Law shrugged.

"He doesn't count!"

"You gonna eat that, Ace?" Luffy asked him, gesturing at his leftovers.

"Yes, Luffy, I am."

"Zoro-ya," Law called, watching the green haired man slowly turn his attention his way. Upon seeing the squint the man made, he asked, "What happened to Apoo-ya?"

Zoro was quiet for a few moments, then said, "For awhile there, it was a little testy. The coroner wasn't quite sure how to rule out his manner of death. But he wasn't instructed to write in what he thought best – he just told kitchen staff to make more."

"Ah, fascinating."

"You can't ask him, either! He don't even know his own name, half the time!" Ace shouted.

"Portgas, lower your tone," Dr Smoker said, teeth chomping down hard. He missed the taste of his cigar, but he couldn't risk bringing it with him while he was amongst certain patients. "You know what he's doing. We talked about this."

"Ah, I know," Ace grumbled, sitting back in his chair.

"What about you, Nose-ya?" Law asked, interrupting Ussop in his count. Ussop restarted it, finished his bite, and took his time to answer.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied nervously. "I wasn't there."

"Of course not. Vinsmoke-ya? Why aren't you eating?" Law then asked with concern in his tone, looking at the too skinny man. "Chicken not to your taste?"

Sanji narrowed his eyes, frowning at him. When he spoke, Law could see that he had taken a bite – but the mashed carrots were tucked under his tongue, where he would let the food liquidize before he swallowed. "I don't care to talk while I eat."

"You should swallow. You're dribbling."

"We talked about this, Vinsmoke," Dr Smoker interjected. "You even had hand in the menu."

With a stubborn set of his jaw, Sanji glared back down at his plate. He separated a piece of carrot from the rest, and cut it into three before picking another piece up and directing it to his mouth, adjusting the fit of the piece to one side. Law then shifted his position in his chair to look under the table, and saw two bony knees jiggling fast, the motion stopped when Sanji noticed him looking. Law was fixed with a darker glare as he straightened up in his chair.

"I'm concerned about the spices used in this dish," Law said, looking at the unrecognizable slop on his plate. "I tend to be allergic to most of them. Having a tingling mouth might earn me a visit to the medical ward."

"There is nothing included that offends any imaginary allergies you claim to have," Sanji snapped at him, shredding his chicken. He took the tiniest sliver, mixed it with his carrots, and tucked that bite against his other cheek, so he spoke clumsily. "This shitty food is plain and bland to suit the tastes of everyone here."

"Then why aren't you eating it? Hmm?" Law then stared at him for several long moments, noting the details of his overly defined jawline, his neck before lifting his eyebrows with understanding. "Ahhh…I see."

"There is nothing wrong with this food!" Sanji exclaimed, taking a moment to swallow before maneuvering his last bite to the other side of his mouth. "Like I'd fuck with anyone's palate with anything unreasonable!"

"Vinsmoke, you know exactly what he's doing," Dr Smoker said gruffly, giving an exasperated look at the pair of them. "Don't give him the power he's looking for."

"I don't like shit being said when I made sure everything was cooked to my specifications. I don't want shit said about my efforts! Everything here is fucking perfect! _I've done everything right!_ " Sanji insisted, voice cracking slightly. Dr Smoker could just see his inner pressure rising, and winced, hoping that the man could rein in that terrible anxiety. After a moment, he did, exhaling slowly. Visibly sucking on whatever it was he had left in his mouth. Luffy watched him with fascination, mouth open before Sanji caught sight of him, and Luffy looked elsewhere. _  
_

"I was only trying to appeal to him in a friendly manner," Law said with exasperation. "I see that in the month since I was gone, he's gained a few pounds. I was trying to compliment him, but I wasn't sure _how_ without offending him."

"You're only saying that shit to make me feel someway! You _never_ have anything nice to say!" Sanji snapped at him, reddening in the face as he gripped his fork tightly, neck tensing.

"There you go, startin' shit _five_ minutes before you even had time to settle down with the rest of us!" Ace snapped. "Don't let him get under your skin, stupid! You know what he's doin'!"

"Don't let them convince you otherwise," Law said to Sanji in a low, exaggerated whisper across the table. "They're not telling you the truth. My eyes are fresh to the new differences around me. For example…"

He looked across the table to Zoro. "Who's your new friend, Zoro-ya? You've yet to introduce me."

Zoro gave him a puzzled look, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not that I haven't. I just don't think it's necessary. The world government doesn't want us to know these things. I've got extra paper, if you need it. But I don't think we'll be needing it in the caves."

"Goddamn it! _Smoker_!" Ace yelled, startling Ussop and Luffy.

Dr Smoker gave a hard sigh, taking a seat at the table while Law looked at Zoro with amusement, seeing him pat himself down for the paper he'd mentioned. When he didn't find it, he lifted his plate, then looked over at Ussop suspiciously. Ussop looked at him, nervously regarding that expression. Luffy looked over at his brother, seeing the expression he wore.

"What's wrong, Ace? Are you still hungry?" Luffy then asked with concern, rocking hard in his chair. One casted arm rested on the tabletop, the other drumming with energy over the edge of the surface. "We can ask for seconds…"

"No, Luffy, Law's being an ass, again, and I don't want any of us bothered by him," Ace said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.

"What's your problem?" Luffy asked Law, frowning. "Aren't you tired of being locked up all the time?"

"Yes," Law answered him. "But I'm afraid my people skills are severely lacking as a result of it. I cannot seem to get along with anybody without offending them. How am I supposed to learn my boundaries if I cannot be allowed to interact?"

"That's true," Luffy said, looking at Dr Smoker. "How can he learn to be human if he can't play with us?"

"Let me play with the others, Doctor," Law said with a mock pleading tone.

"Everyone here is allotted a certain amount of freedom to make their choices, upon approval," Dr Smoker said gruffly. "Some of these choices are denied, due to bad behavior or bad choices. Everything that Mr Trafalgar tends to cause are products of these bad choices."

"Like with Apoo?" Luffy asked with a grimace.

"Apoo's situation was Apoo's choice to make," Dr Smoker said slowly. "In the end, he was by himself."

" _Bullshit_!" Ace cut in, standing suddenly and pointing at Law. " _He_ was the last one to talk to him. Everyone here saw them talkin', and everyone here can say that he put that idea in Apoo's head!"

"Whatever Apoo-ya chose to do that day was absolutely his own fault," Law said calmly.

"YOU TOLD HIM TO - !"

"Ace, if you don't calm down, you're going to be excused early, and you'll miss out on dessert," Dr Smoker interrupted, lifting his voice a little. "Strawberry shortcake, today, wasn't it, Vinsmoke?"

Sanji took another bite of his potatoes, taking a moment to tuck that piece under his tongue. "I whipped the cream myself. Sugared the strawberries very lightly. Added extra to the angel cake. Not enough to whip Luffy into a frenzy, but just enough to appeal to the palate."

"Will you be having some, Vinsmoke-ya?" Law asked lightly. "I'd trust your opinion if I saw you eating it."

"Fuck _off_."

"Oh, boy!" Luffy cried, jumping from his chair. " _Oh boy_! I haven't had that in awhile! Can I have extra cream? I want extra cream!"

"I don't know about that sugar," Zoro muttered. "I don't trust it."

"You guys don't have to fucking eat it if you don't fucking want it!" Sanji snapped at all of them, reddening in the face. His eyes watered for a moment, battling the rising anxiety that flooded him every time he felt insecure with appealing to others.

"I want it," Ussop said in a low whisper.

"Vinsmoke, _eat_!" Dr Smoker snapped, noting that the blond hadn't yet taken another bite. "Stop sucking the life out of your food, first!"

"I bet you've never been told that, before," Law whispered, Sanji glaring at him.

"Of course, we want to be careful of any extra pesticides," Zoro said with concern. "Last time, there was just a hint of salt in my pastry. I felt uneven after that. Kuina mentioned that the laundry soap was changed, as well. I have concerns about worms in my sheets."

"Have you tried wiping your ass, lately?" Law asked him. "Flies tend not to lay their larvae by anything clean."

"SHUT UP, TRAFALGAR!" Ace shouted at him.

"Flies?" Zoro asked, eyes widening. "I thought there weren't any flies, here."

"There's not!" Sanji snapped at him.

"They're too loud. They're too loud, I can't sleep if there's any. I can't- my skin tends to crawl – I don't like them buzzing by my ear," Zoro continued, rubbing his arms, and then flicking his ears uncomfortably. "I don't like their voices. I don't like that buzzing noise."

"Dr Smoker!" Ace yelled, still standing.

"All of you are excused!" Dr Smoker snarled, hitting the table with a fist. Penguin started to eat again, Law covering his smirk with his hands as he folded them in front of his face. He watched Zoro twitch, looking for flies while Ace seethed next to him.

"But I wanted dessert!" Luffy cried. "You promised us dessert! Sanji made us dessert! He made the cream! He made it for us, special! I want my dessert! You can't just tell us to go when we're expecting it!"

"Vinsmoke, _stay_ ," Dr Smoker growled as the thin man attempted to get up. "Not until that plate's cleared. Trafalgar, eat. You spoiled dinner for the rest of us, you might as well as enjoy the pig's slop you brought upon yourself."

"Can I have a spoon, at least? I can't possibly do anything dangerous with a spoon," Law said, looking at his plate once more. "Using my fingers is highly unsanitary, considering you never even let me wash my hands before coming in here. I apologize in advance, Zoro-ya, the flies might be following after me."

"I can hear them coming around me," Zoro complained, swiping past his right ear. "I can hear them buzzing. My skin is crawling. I feel like they're in my hair."

" _Goddamn it_ ," Dr Smoker muttered, watching the man scratch furiously at his scalp before hitting his right ear. "Give him a bath. Make sure he stays away from anything small enough to insert into an orifice."

"Maybe it's not wise, saying that out loud to some of these orderlies, here," Law murmured, looking at the two men standing nearby. "They tend to enjoy challenging that sort of thing."

"Enough with your shit, Trafalgar. I wouldn't urge any more strange ideas from you, considering you're only an hour out of solitary. Vinsmoke, for fuck's sake, stop playing with your food! _Eat_!"

"It's gone cold!" Sanji snapped at him, scraping a piece of carrot from his fork. "This shit is disgusting when it's cold!"

"It's your own damn fault for letting it cool off while you were contributing to this shit. EAT."

"Just a few bites," Law said to Sanji comfortingly. "I'm sure it won't show up that quickly if you start your routine early, tonight."

"Fuck off, dick jockey."

Dr Smoker gave Law an impatient glare. "For fuck's sake…If you don't eat _your_ goddamn food, I'm going to have someone shovel it in, and hope you choke."

"If only one were so lucky!" Law chuckled, digging his fingers into the slop and raising it to his mouth.

: :

The next morning, breakfast was served simply – oatmeal with milk, pieces of fruit. When they were all allowed their seats, Law yawned noisily as Luffy rocked in his chair, Ussop's fingers drumming in beats at the edge of the table, Zoro staring blankly to their right; Ace's fists were clenched on the table top while Sanji glared at the steaming bowls, jaw tight; Penguin sat with his hands between his knees, eyes focused on the utensils alongside his bowl.

Dr Smoker sipped at his coffee, looking forward to the end of his shift. Zoro's medication had been upped after last night's panic attack over flies he heard buzzing in his room, so the man was basically a functioning zombie. Having two zombies in the group tended to cause more reports, and Sanji was nearing his last strike – he'd taken only one more bite of his carrot last night, and was caught jogging in place after midnight, convinced that he was carrying extra weight.

Luffy was sullen about being denied dessert, but he was looking forward to the break room – he and Ussop had a chess game going, and rumor had it, Dr Hina had arranged for a day outside. Day shift was a little heavier than night shift, and Dr Hina had a different outlook for the patients as 'humans'. With word that Law was out of solitary, she had made sure to bring on extra orderlies to keep the group controlled.

"Let's not perform a repeat of last night," Dr Smoker said, setting his cup of coffee to a side tray. "Trafalgar promises to keep his trap shut for the duration of breakfast, so all of you should be fine to eat. Vinsmoke…your meal was prepared specially for you. To your design – "

Law raised his hand, and Dr Smoker ignored it.

" – So there should be no excuses as to you rejecting it, today," Dr Smoker continued. "Luffy, there is extra fruit for you this morning, because you missed out on dessert. Anybody else with any special requests? Excluding Trafalgar, of course. He needs to earn his privileges."

Law waved his hand impatiently.

"A cigarette?" Ace asked hopefully. "Not much I can do if someone lights it for me."

"I'd like one, too!" Sanji chimed in, lifting a spoon and digging it into the bowl with an enthusiastic gesture. He wore a navy jacket on his shoulders, over a white pullover and slacks that seemed as if they were made ten sizes too big for him. His hair was neatly combed to one side, and Luffy was trying to mimic it. "Look, I'll eat right now."

Law propped a leg underneath him and waved his arm extra wide, sitting up tall in his chair.

"Sure, why not? I'm sure Dr Hina will allow this."

Both of them deflated and resumed looking at their breakfast, Dr Smoker looking over their heads to Penguin. "What about you, kid? Any special requests?"

"Extra snacks!" Luffy said from the corner of his mouth.

"Eat," Dr Smoker muttered, reaching for a stack of paper, Zoro looking at it with vague interest. "I got my reports to do. And don't bother, Trafalgar. I've enough of you."

Disappointed, Law sat properly in his chair and looked at his oatmeal. He still wasn't allowed any utensils, so he picked up a piece of toast to use it as a spoon. He blew on it carefully, watching the others eat. Sanji was stirring his, and when he lifted the spoon, he dumped the content from it and placed the spoon in his mouth, essentially only tasting what was left.

The dining room was quiet, and Dr Smoker watched them eat with a critical eye. Ussop's constant tapping was wearing out his side of the table again, so he made a note for Dr Hina to read later. Trading places at the table wasn't easy for those used to the routine. Zoro would throw a fit if he were moved; Luffy and Ace had to remain separated, but close, because they tended to rough house. Law needed space from the others because he was unpredictable; Sanji refused to sit by Luffy or Ace. But Ussop's constant tapping was wearing thin on the wood, and they needed to adjust.

Penguin had stopped eating and was staring up at the unlit candelabra atop of an empty shelf space on the far right wall near their heads, eyes following something. Dr Smoker looked up cautiously, and saw nothing out of place. It gave him a little sensation of unease to see it, through, because Penguin normally didn't follow anything.

So he wound up staring for just a little longer, looking for whatever it was that caught the catatonic man's eye. He saw only flickering shadows caused by moving utensils caught in the candle light – by the vague rays of sunlight coming from the small slots that counted as 'window space' near the ceiling. He thought perhaps he'd see a spider, or another type of insect, but there really was nothing that stood out. So he looked over at Penguin again, watching blank blue eyes lift up, stretch to the right, then back again.

Dr Smoker tilted in his seat, trying not to draw attention to his actions by those enjoying their breakfast. He saw movement from the corner of his eye, but he chose to ignore Law's impatient waving. He was not going to let that man ruin the end of his shift for him.

But Ace caught notice of Smoker's action, and turned in his chair to look up from his oatmeal with a final chomp, brow furrowing as he tried to see what it was that caught the doctor's eye. Sanji noticed Ace doing this, and looked up as well, frowning. Once Luffy noticed people were looking up, he followed, oatmeal dropping from his chin as he crammed in sliced pieces of apple.

Zoro tilted his head to the side, absently flicking at his ear.

There was nothing on the ceiling that stood out, and nothing crawled into view. Dr Smoker expected to see a spider, or even a mouse caught up in the wide spread arms of the candelabra. So he finally looked at Penguin again, finding the man still once more, focused on a point in the direction he'd been staring at.

Zoro laughed suddenly, all of them startled in their chairs. Dr Smoker straightened in his chair to look at him.

"What's so funny, Roronoa?" he asked gruffly, Ace embarrassed as Luffy giggled at his own reaction.

"Apoo," Zoro answered thickly. "Took his time coming out from the shitter."

 _Fuck_ , Dr Smoker thought with exasperation.

"I'd like to be excused," Sanji announced. He shrugged his jacket on. "I lost my appetite."

"But Apoo's dead, Zoro," Luffy said, leaning over the table to look at him. "He's been dead for over a month, eh?"

Zoro gave him a confused look, then turned in his chair to look up at the wall. His eyes started following the same motion Penguin's had, his brow furrowing with concentration. Law waved both arms impatiently, arcing them wide.

Ace grit his teeth, clenching his fingers into hard fists as he stared down the table at Law with renewed venom.

Zoro then straightened in his chair, flicking at his right ear. His shoulder twitched, as if it were trying to touch that shell. He exhaled heavily, his breath foul.

"Fuuuucccckkkk," he whispered, lips twitching into a grimace. "Fuuuuccckkkk….there's something buzzing in my ear, again. There's something inside of my ear that's bothering me."

"There's nothin' there, Zoro!" Ace said impatiently. "There's ain't anything in the air, there's nothing on the wall. It's _nothing_!"

Ussop started tapping again, but he was only repeating his patterns as he started to sweat. He was the only one that wasn't looking, focused intensely on his half finished bowl of oatmeal.

"All of you are freaky," Luffy commented, reaching for his milk. "There's nothing there. Maybe a mouse? Maybe there's a mouse in the wall. At home, they ran around everywhere. They would be inside of them. It's probably a mouse. Hey, you guys seen a mice? Haha! A mouse, have you seen a mouse? It's not a rat, it's smaller, it's really cute! They squish through anything!"

"There's something inside of my ear, right now," Zoro stated slowly. "It's buzzing in my ear. It's itchy."

"I can't eat this, Smoker," Sanji said firmly. "I can't eat this after that was said."

"Eat your goddamn apple!" Dr Smoker snapped at him. "You don't eat anything today, you'll be strapped to that table in the medical ward again. You won't get to go outside with the others!"

"But - !"

"EAT! And what the fuck do you want, Trafalgar?" Dr Smoker finally snapped, looking down the table at him.

Gleeful that he had a chance to speak, Law sat back down in his chair and said, "If I might point out, that's not a shadow on the wall, sir. Isn't there a crawlspace between floors? Perhaps there's something rotting up there, and its bodily fluids are permeating into the wood, allowing it to collect and drip. Human bodies are made of oil and water, and when –"

"Shaddup! There's nothing up there!" Dr Smoker snapped at him, noting that Sanji was pushing his oatmeal away with a disgusted look, and Zoro was swatting at his right ear again. Ace looked back at the wall with interest, Luffy turning in his chair to look with a squinting expression. "Vinsmoke, last warning before you get force-fed again. I know how much you enjoy it, so keep on rejecting your food."

Stubbornly, Sanji took a small bite of a slice of apple, but he ended up cramming it to the side of his mouth. Smug, Law started to eat again, replacing his soggy toast with another. Now that Dr Smoker was focused on that section of the wall, he looked over at Penguin. He tapped on the table near one of his hands to indicate for him to move, and Penguin resumed eating, missing his mouth a couple of times and leaving pieces of oatmeal there. Law tapped on the table again, and Penguin stopped, spoon clattering loudly on the bowl's edge. His eyes started to move back up to that spot once more.

Law looked back to his bowl just in time to see Luffy reaching for his sliced apple. In response, he made eye contact with the younger boy, who stilled in mid-motion. He retracted his hand cautiously, and Law stared him down, willing him to make another move. Ussop's taps grew louder, breathing a little heavier.

"Remember what happened the last time you touched my food, you little fuck," Law warned him low, unblinking.

"You think you're so high and mighty just because you get put into a room by yourself in the basement," Luffy snapped back. "If you're not eating your food, other people might want it. Don't let it go to waste."

"Luffy, stop talking to that jerk!" Ace snapped at him. "There's no reason for you to say anything to him!"

"Trade him chairs, Ace-ya," Law encouraged him. "I bet you and I can have interesting conversations. _Grown_ up conversations."

"Both of you knock it off," Dr Smoker warned, setting his reports down. "Not another word. _Eat_!"

"Dr Hina is in the house!" the doctor announced, striding into the dining room at that moment, observing all the patients in front of her. Her skirts waved grandly around her as she settled a hand on her hip. She was just as tall as most of the men in the room, her light pink hair gathered up in a neat bun. Her glasses were pushed up atop of her forehead, slightly crooked. Dr Smoker stood up with a relieved sigh, gathering up his paper. "Anything interesting to report, Smoker?"

"Not much, but you'll see that Trafalgar is loose, again."

"Not that Dr Hina cares," she said with a scoffing expression. "Dr Hina refuses to give in to the demands of family money. He'll be treated accordingly."

"Right. Well. Also," he added, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Get that crawlspace checked out, please. There's been some activity up there."

"Interesting. Will do. Vinsmoke! Why are you not eating? It won't do for outside activities to have _no_ energy to participate! Do you intend on spending your entire life napping?" she boomed, clapping her hands as she strolled away from Dr Smoker. "Luffy! What is with that eye of yours?"

"Hah ha! I fell off the bed, last night! I dreamt I was chasing after my dad's goats, again! It was great! The goats were bouncing all over the place! They were hard to catch! I couldn't keep up!"

"Wonderful! So much energy for us to burn! We're going to have a good time outside! Roronoa! I have some ear muffs made for you, to protect those cute little ears of yours! Ace! Do you have more freckles than you did yesterday?"

"Lady, I'm not in the mood for your shit."

"Ussop! Drumsticks stay inside the house, this time! Your hands need to be open and ready for other things! I have a project for you! Penguin! See anything interesting, today? You'll talk to me about it, later, when we're enjoying our tea! Trafalgar! …hmm, Dr Hina has nothing nice to say about you," she decided with a curl of her lip.

Law's expression clearly indicated what he thought of her – nothing pleasant.

Dr Smoker cut in with, "He's not allowed to talk at the table, today. My orders."

"I won't argue with that. Vinsmoke! Finish that slice, everyone will be waiting on you, today!"

"Fucking shitty ass rules you have…"

Seeing that Dr Hina had all of their attention, Dr Smoker felt confident leaving. But he couldn't help but glance up at that spot on the wall once more, finding that there was a different sort of shadow cast there. He hoped that Dr Hina would follow through with her promised investigation into it.


	2. Chapter 2

: 2 :

When he arrived minutes before dinner that night, he noticed the tension in the mansion as soon as he walked in. The First Floor nurses looked at him uncomfortably, but none were willing to make eye contact with him. He didn't bother settling in. He headed straight for the Second Floor, where the air was considerably thicker with tension. He looked over the table to see that all of them were in their chairs, but Dr Hina was standing with a rigid posture, glaring at the kitchen staff as they prepared the table with noticeable agitation.

"What happened?" he asked as Dr Hina turned to look at him.

"I have written out the reports necessary for you to look over. You might as well over dinner," she added bitterly. She turned to glare at one patient in particular.

That was when Dr Smoker realized that Luffy was wearing the heavier vest, looking upset. Penguin was still looking at that same spot on the wall, eyes moving from side to side. Ussop looked exhausted, counting out loud as he made the necessary taps he needed to get through the meal. Ace was glaring down the table once more, more peeved than he was earlier. Law looked smug, sitting primly in his chair, knees pressed against the table edge. Zoro looked as if he were minutes away from falling asleep, head jerking upward, eyelids heavy. Sanji was too busy looking at the plates being set out to give any indication to the stress the others were feeling.

He sighed.

Dr Hina turned and marched out of the dining room without another word, night shift exchanging their positions with the day crew. One of the nurses from downstairs was there, swiftly handing Dr Smoker the papers that Dr Hina had mentioned, and then she scurried away.

He sat down as everyone waited for the word, and once he gave it, he started reading. After he was finished, he looked back at the spot of the wall with a controlled frown. Reading what Dr Hina had given him goosebumps, and a sickening feeling in his gut. He looked down the table at the men eating – well, _most_ , considering that Penguin was still staring at the shadows, and Sanji was eying his fork with a critical eye – and decided that tonight was going to be one of _those_ nights.

: :

An hour before it was time to retire to their rooms, most of the patients were sitting in the break room, doing their best to 'calm their minds' for the night. Luffy was on his twenty minute jogging exercise with the weighted vest, and he spoke excitedly about the things they saw earlier that day in the fenced in yard. In an effort to combat his hyperactivity, he was forced to wear the heavy weighted vest throughout the night. It had been designed to slow him down, but Dr Smoker noticed that he seemed to be getting used to the activity – even growing physically stronger because of it.

Ussop was sprawled with a tired expression as he contributed to the conversation. Zoro was nearly ready to fall asleep on his feet, leaning against the far wall near one of the barred windows – the three by two slot was too small for any of them to fit if they found reason to try and escape that route, the iron bars outside preventing even a limb from emerging if the glass were broken. But even that was sectioned off by mesh wiring, just in case these same patients decided to use glass as a weapon – or tool.

Penguin was seated stiffly in one of the heavy chairs – it took two men to lift the thing, preventing any of the patients from using it as a weapon – and staring sightlessly at the floor. Walking the length of the room, Sanji grumpily muttered about being denied a cigarette, occasionally contributing to the younger boys' conversation when prompted. Law sat in the other chair, leg crossed primly, observing everything with nothing more than a bored expression. Dr Smoker watched him from the corner of his eye, looking for any sign that the man would soon provoke any of them into any conversation.

Upon Dr Hina's investigation, they had found the rotted head of Apoo sitting in the crawl space above the dining room area. The workers of the asylum were under investigation for that – the day the man died, his body had been intact. Suffering from intense delusions, unable to react to social cues or even prone to fits if slighted by some mysterious thing, Apoo had been one of the more difficult patients to reach. Dr Smoker had a hard time even trying to diagnose the man's psychosis, finding that the spectrum of antisocial reaction too broad to start pinpointing his mental state.

Dr Smoker remembered that day Apoo had died vividly; they had been seated in the break room, much as they were right now. He remembered spotting Law bent at the knees, saying something low to Apoo that the man reacted to with a stiff action. Before anyone could intervene, Apoo stood up from the floor, and began screaming in a wordless, piercing manner. His fit took three of the largest male nurses to secure, thrashing so wildly that sedatives were called for.

"I only asked if he were a 'good boy'," Law had protested. But he started laughing at the fit that caused Zoro to twitch and complain, for Luffy to panic, for Ussop to tap repeatedly on his way out from the break room to gain safe distance from the taller man.

Dr Smoker had ordered him to be confined while Apoo was dealt with – what should have made him suspicious was Law's easiness to go along with the prompting. Apoo seemed to calm himself before the sedatives arrived. Twenty minutes later, he sat on the floor and stared at the wall, scratching himself, mumbling incoherently. He then excused himself to the lavatory – at the time, there had been a door in place. Ten minutes later, the orderlies were dismayed when Apoo emerged from the bathroom, having covered himself with his own feces.

He was also in the act of eating it, smearing goop over everything he could touch, blabbing about being a 'good boy'. The other patients fled the area to avoid being touched. The orderlies veered away from him until protective gear could be located. Zoro threw a fit once the smell reached him, and started to rage. From his room, Law laughed loudly as Apoo's voice started to rise.

The worst part started when Apoo managed to lock himself in the bathroom. One of the nurses had then realized that a key was missing from his belt. The horrendous screams started up then, and, due to the heaviness of the door, no one could get it open in time. By the time one of the women from downstairs made it up with an extra key at Dr Smoker's shouts, the damage was done.

The other patients were herded into their rooms at this point, but they were all looking through the mesh wiring windows, watching as the orderlies reacted with horror and spastic retching as the door was opened. After seeing what he had, Dr Smoker couldn't look, anymore. Apoo died slowly, mumbling about being a 'good boy', and Law was in hysterics.

The reports indicated that Apoo had died from self-suffocation, and the coroner was paid to 'adjust' some of the details. They couldn't let word get out about his true manner of death – no one would trust the institution into further care of its patients. After Law was confined to solitary, the other patients made up their own version of events to explain what had happened. A couple of weeks later, Zoro told them all what Apoo did, because 'Kuina' had seen it happen.

"Wrapped himself in his own coils," he'd said with a grave nod. "Tightened it to keep the bugs out. He was a 'good boy'."

" _What the fuck_ gets a guy to do that?" Sanji had asked, unable to picture the scene.

"Kuina said that Apoo can only make himself better if he cleaned the shit out. The beam of light made him crazy. It can't be helped."

"Hopefully that light stays out of my room," Luffy had said.

"Law was only being helpful."

"I don't think that was 'being helpful'," Ussop had muttered, shaking. "That was not being helpful at all."

"The apples didn't help, but he looked at them anyway. The other eyes did, too. There were too many eyes watching him."

" _Shit_ ," Sanji had said, crossing his arms stiffly, rocking himself on his heels before shifting from side to side. "Well, that's too bad."

"Literally shit," Zoro had agreed with a nod. "His own shit coils."

"It's humanly impossible to do that, right?" Ussop had asked Dr Smoker, looking for reassurance.

But Dr Smoker couldn't get the sight of his head, and couldn't answer fast enough, so Ussop made his own confirmation. Most patients that died at the asylum were either returned to their families, or buried in the nearby island's cemetery, in unmarked graves. Apoo had been buried at this location, having been 'unclaimed'. Buried intact. It didn't make sense for his head to remain at the institution – Dr Smoker suspected foul play within the staff, but he trusted Dr Hina to get to the bottom of it.

He had to admit, Law wasn't that far from his suspicions. The day Apoo died, his body had been stored in the basement until the funeral director could remove it, three days later. Law had been confined in solitary at that time – Dr Smoker considered looking over the records himself to see who had been on duty, then. Staff could be corrupted if the money and influence was right.

But upon that thought, _how_ had the head gotten into the crawlspace?

Based on Law's crimes, the man wasn't secretive – he loved to brag about his exploits. As a child, he'd stolen off with people's pets and dismembered them in his own back yard before returning them to their owner's porches. Later, he moved onto humans; prostitutes and homeless – people who were easily missed. He was only caught because he'd bragged about personal details to a man closely associated with the justice system. Without actual evidence to pin him to the deaths, the judge couldn't convict him to those crimes; his family had too much money to corrupt the case. He got away with at least seven known murders with similar methods of operation, and Dr Smoker suspected that there were more. Law's personality was dangerously charismatic, depending on what he was looking for. So far, he regarded the other patients as 'playthings', and he tested them regularly – Dr Hina was a threat. He openly defied and provoked her, but she refused to back down from him. He displayed cruelty to animals and agitated the others if he managed to get a hold of one. His outside visits were often limited because of this.

He was not a treatable person – he displayed too much cruelty and apathy towards other human beings. Dr Smoker was able to catch his lies, which frustrated Law – the man could convince anyone that he was remorseful for his actions, but it only took a small catch to upset him. Dr Smoker knew how to use that to trip him. It was to his fortune, Dr Smoker supposed, that he had a few more years of working with such patients that Law could be contained – otherwise, he feared for the public's safety.

He read the reports to be caught up with the day's activities. With them in mind, he leaned against the nearby shelves, where few books sat. He glared at the blank-faced man watching the others, suspecting that his hands had been recently dirtied.

That night, after their doors were locked, staff reduced the lights. Dr Smoker took to the office closest to the bedrooms, and looked over the reports again. Luffy's latest accident involved climbing one of the trees on the property, Ace yelling at him to get down. Luffy had jumped instead, but his casted leg caught on a limb on the way down, and he'd crashed face first into the dirt. As staff treated him, Law laughed hysterically, which drew Ace's attention, and Ace would've gotten away with a physical confrontation if the orderlies hadn't intervened quickly.

In the midst of that, a bee had alighted in Zoro's proximity, causing him to freak out – drawing insects towards him with violent dancing to escape the insect. He'd tripped over Sanji, who was napping in the grass, causing the man to kick him as he reacted aggressively. Both of them started to fight, which caused the guards to abandon Ace and Law's confrontation, and Ace managed to get in close enough to hit Law before Dr Hina intervened. There was some inappropriate comment made, which caused Dr Hina to react with her binding technique – an arm twisted hard to the back – to which Law gave no reaction. It was the lack of reaction that caused concern to most staff – it unsettled Dr Hina to have him confined for an hour to think about what he'd caused, and he'd taken the punishment without a fuss.

It was always the quiet before the storm that made most of the staff nervous when it came to Law. After he was released, he was as 'normal' as could be with the other patients, disregarding the entire incident, but he did stare at Dr Hina with enough weight that the doctor was nervous. Which explained her behavior upon Dr Smoker's arrival.

He figured he'd have a talk with him before he left his shift in the morning, just to see if he could diffuse the situation.

As he sat there making notes, he became aware of a sound in the hallway. A slow shuffle that sounded as if someone were dragging their feet on the wooden floor. He tensed, then rose up from his desk. Peering out from his doorway, he searched the dark hallway for anyone walking it. There was a guard near the stairway that was looking over, as well, and their eye contact was brief. None of the patients made any reacting noises, so Dr Smoker figured that perhaps someone was moving around in their room. With exasperation, he left the office and headed straight for Sanji's room, thinking he was up exercising again.

But when he peered through the small window of his door, he saw that the man was facing the doorway, sleeping deeply. The shuffling noise continued, and Dr Smoker looked down the hallway once more, the single guard joining him. He had a candle lit, and the flame casted caught nobody there. Together, they quietly checked the rooms of the other patients. Law was sound asleep, Ace snoring heavily with his feet pointed towards them. Luffy and Ussop were motionless as well; Zoro was seated upright in his bed, but his arms were crossed tightly, head down.

That left only Penguin's room. Once they looked there, they caught sight of the man waddling between bed and door, moving without aim.

"Go to sleep, Penguin," Dr Smoker ordered gruffly, the guard giving a single exhale of relief. He had to elbow him to remain professional, but he watched as Penguin obeyed the command and sat down onto his bed, flopping back first on the mattress. Dr Smoker watched him for a few more moments, then pushed away from the door.

The moment he resettled in his chair, that shuffling sound happened again. With a low growl of impatience, Dr Smoker headed back towards the room, hearing the shuffling grow nosier the closer he ventured to the door. Looking into the room, though, showed him that Penguin was still in the same spot he'd left him in. The shuffling noise continued off to his right, so he squinted into the darkness, whispering for the guard to rejoin him. Once he did, the candlelight illuminating the darkness at the end of the hall, they saw nothing.

But the sound continued, and the more he listened to it, the more Dr Smoker was aware of the noise's direction. It was coming from up above his head. In unison, both he and the guard looked up at the ceiling, hearing the shuffling grow nearer to them, then retreat.

"Send someone up there to check it out," Dr Smoker told the guard irritably. When he left, Dr Smoker returned to his office. He sat down to concentrate on his paperwork, mindful of the shuffling noises. He did hear a few of the guards approach the locked attic corridor just off of the main staircase, and tried to tune them out. He was reading over Zoro's daily charts and the one on one session with Dr Hina when he realized he heard nothing at all. He lifted his head, removing his glasses as he listened for something indicative of the group's activity just above him. He was pretty sure he'd heard them walk up the narrow staircase to access the attic, their footsteps ringing out overhead as they access the attic space, but now there was only a strange silence.

The shuffling had even stopped.

He waited for a few moments, straining his ears to hear any shift of weight, or even the telltale voices of those men overhead, and heard absolutely nothing. It bugged him that the trio wasn't doing their job correctly, and curiosity got the best of him. He locked his office behind him and headed for the staircase. There was an orderly standing there at the bottom, looking vaguely interested as he held a candle in hand. He was waiting on the men's return, and he looked as puzzled as Dr Smoker did. Both of them then walked up the narrow staircase to the attic.

It smelled of mothballs, dust and a strange oil. He'd seen the attic before – it stored some of the previous owner's abandoned junk, and the sanatorium's own collection of extra furniture, supplies that they kept on hand. It creaked noisily when someone walked about, and caused dust to fall onto the floor below. He figured that perhaps something of interest had caught that group's eye, and they were only lingering around it to examine it. As he stepped out onto the attic floor, he caught sight of the candles that they'd used to guide their way, sitting on various flat surfaces. The orderly hurriedly excused himself to go back downstairs, and Dr Smoker scoffed at his retreat.

He ventured towards the candleholder nearest him, and picked it up, holding it ahead of him to see where the others were. His weight made a loud creaking noise as he walked the narrow trail through stacked furniture throughout the attic space – although he saw these items, he didn't see anyone else. The candles left behind were either sat down atop of a flat surface, or on the floor.

Bewildered, he walked to the next one and looked around himself. Then to the other side of the attic, scanning for any sign of the individuals that had come up. He was certain he did not hear them retreat back to the first floor. Something about the scene made his skin ripple with unease. As he stood there, he heard the shuffling sound start up, again. It was coming from the other side of the attic, and it sounded as if something were moving over the floor in a slow crawl.

He scanned that side with a skeptical expression, then marched in that direction. As he did so, shadows separated and built, shifting away from his intended destination to re-gather in another part of the attic. It was almost as if someone, moving about on their knees, had taken a quick route away from him to stay within the line of shadows. The possibility that it was one of the patients playing tricks on him hit him – he was more angry than upset about it. He ventured in that direction, nearly stumbling over end tables, a chair, and banging off the edge of a table. That shadow suddenly drew back into the wall, and the shuffling stopped. Once he reached that point, he was surprised to see that nothing was there. He touched the wall with one hand, feeling for a doorway, a trick panel.

The sound of someone coming up the stairs caught his attention, and he looked over, expecting to see a guard, or that orderly. But whomever it was wasn't carrying a candle, and the footsteps slowed near the doorway, then stopped completely. After seconds passed, Dr Smoker grew impatient.

"Who's there?" he demanded, marching in that direction. When he didn't get a reply, he gave a curse of impatience. Everyone was going to have their asses handed to him once he found the missing guards and confronted this joker. As he neared the doorway, the door slammed shut. All the candles blew out in that moment in a wisp of smoke. Being enveloped within the sudden darkness had him banging off something large and heavy, and he cursed, tripping over something that caught his foot in mid-lift. He managed to catch himself, but as he did so, he heard the door lock.

Furious, he set his candleholder aside and began feeling his way out. But as he shuffled through the narrow trails between stacked items around him, he grew aware of something following after him. The shuffling sound that brought his attention to the attic turned into wide, heavy steps, and things crashed to the floor.

He wasn't easily afraid, but there was something about this sound that rattled him. It was the sound of someone breathing through a clogged nose, a whistling that sounded familiar. Etched with it was a voice uttering sounds formed to make a word – too low and guttural to be human, devilishly made.

Dr Smoker instantly thought of Apoo – he had made that odd noise whenever he was at the height of a tantrum, when sucking wind required harsh effort. Things crashed to the floor, rattled over the wood, and that sound grew closer still. His skin crawled, and the hairs on his arms and neck rose. He found the door, tried the lock – even as he'd heard it fall into place earlier. That breathing grew louder, and suddenly he smelled it – that putrid shit smell that Apoo had reeked of, that made him retch.

After that was a loud explosion, a blast of horrific power and force that left his face feeling loose and wet. That sound disappeared, intense darkness settling around him with suffocating force. The attic rumbled with a low roll of moving sound that pushed away from him, rattling everything in its path before resettling.

The candles flickered back to life, allowing him to see the vague shape of a man lighting them. But there was something wrong with his vision. The sight began to physically pull away from him, blurring into something of a shape, an ear piercing ringing building in volume the further the colors grew. The ringing grew louder, and louder, until it ceased into absolute nothingness.


	3. Chapter 3

: 3 :

The next day, Dr Hina walked into a flurry of panic. There were law enforcement officers on scene, and the patients were reportedly locked in their rooms, denied breakfast as this investigation took precedence. The coroners' team were hauling out body bags, and she stood off to the side, horrified. None of the night staff could answer in a coherent manner. She stood with silent horror as she counted the amount of bodies that were lying in black sacks on the main porch. The only male orderly on scene looked traumatized, standing off to the side with a blank expression. She approached him.

" _What happened_?" she demanded. "Did one of the patients do this?"

"They were all locked in for the night," he said with hesitation. "I saw them with my own eyes. _They were all locked in_. But this happened in the attic. All of it! I didn't see what happened, it…it happened so fast."

"Then there was an intruder present on the grounds?" she demanded, bewildered.

"No one knows! It started in the attic. All of it. Suddenly, they were all dead. All of them. Dr Smoker…" When he trailed off, he touched his forehead, fingers grasping at his hair. "He was the last one up."

"Where is he? Let me speak with him," she said, eyes narrowing. "We'll get to the bottom of this!"

When she saw him point, she turned to get an explanation, but he was pointing at one of the larger bags. With confusion, she stood there, then watched as one of the assistants on scene crouched and pulled back the zipper for her. The face of her colleague was unrecognizable. As if someone had brought something heavy down, repeatedly, over the top of his head. She only recognized him from the chest down.

She had nothing to say as she straightened, blood draining from her face. Then she marched into the building, demanding to see the patients.

They were still locked in their rooms, clearly bewildered by what was happening. She went straight to the one that had the ability to cause such a death, and found Law glaring at his hands, sitting within the center of his bed.

"It's flattering that everyone thinks I did it," he said before she could say anything. "But even I lack the ability to walk through metal."

"You're the _only_ murderer in this institution!" she snapped.

"Ah, _hearsay_ , Dr Hina. All of it only hearsay," he said lightly. But his smirk drove her crazy. She kicked the door and shifted away from it, aware that her emotions were driving her into the accusation. She had to rely on law enforcement to perform their investigation. She looked down the hall to see them moving around near the staircase, looking in her direction with nervous glances.

Later that night, she sat up in Dr Smoker's office, looking over the reports that he'd completed only minutes before his death. Nothing had been out of the ordinary that night. Nobody had reacted any differently towards him than they normally did. But the orderly had mentioned the activity coming from the attic minutes before the guards had investigated. He'd said that the patients had been confirmed locked in their rooms. That only Penguin had been awake and moving about.

Frustration hit her. If only the man had mind to speak. To say anything of hearing anything, seeing anything. But the man was unreachable. He simply did not respond to anything other than forced guidance into an activity. Even if he felt pain – which he was subject to, during one of his weekly visits to the medical ward, where they'd tried unsuccessfully to rouse him from his state – he did not respond. His body reacted appropriately, but he never said a word, nor changed expression.

She reached up, brushing her fingernails through her hair. Dr Hina suspected Law had something to do with it – maybe not him, but his family. But Rosinante had been the one to sign over his son's rights, and he wore the weary, trapped expression of a man acknowledging that his son could not be saved in any other way.

What would have been the motive to kill these men?

There were no reports of Law having any discord with staff – other than herself. He respected Dr Smoker to some degree, but he openly despised her. She sat back in Dr Smoker's chair and looked up at the ceiling. The patients hadn't been allowed out of their rooms, today, and she could hear Luffy's frustration at feeling trapped. He was still wearing his heavy night vest. Most of them expressed uncertainty at their own safety. But the staircase was taped off, and while law enforcement kept a heavy presence, the patients were secured for safety's sake.

She left the chair, seeing that their hall was bright with candlelight. Ace had whined and complained about wanting to use the lavatory, but every time he was allowed out, his eyes were caught by the flames around him. Sanji was openly over-exercising – she could hear him huffing and puffing through his damn routine – and Ussop was tapping away to comfort himself. Luffy complained as he banged on his door, wanting to 'stretch' his legs. Law said nothing.

Dr Hina walked the hall slowly, arms folded behind her back. Luffy plastered himself against his door to peer out his window, kicking the metal with one casted foot.

"Are you going to let us out? Can you let us out just for a bit? I'm tired of being in here! Why can't we get out? I only want to walk the hallway. Can I walk it with you? Is there a problem? Why can't I just walk with you? I promise to walk real slow!" he begged, nearly in one breath.

"I'm sorry, Luffy," she said gravely. "But for your safety – "

"Nothing will happen to me! I'll beat them up! I'm stronger than I look, I promise! I'll kick the crap out of anyone that tries to harm me! C'mon, Dr Hina, I'm _bored_! I'm so bored! Do you have anything to eat? A snack? Can I at least have a snack? Sanji won't give me his."

"I don't have any!" Sanji said crankily.

"You _always_ have almonds! Give me some almonds!"

"I don't have anything!"

"I truly apologize to all of you for this," Dr Hina said, speaking up over their argument. "But it is a serious investigation. There was someone loose in this mansion, who killed _four_ full grown men. Was it single handedly? Or was there a group of them? To enter a locked space would mean that they had access to the attic. This is cause for concern. What if it were staff? What if it were one of you?"

"If it were me, and I'm only saying this theoretically _, I_ wouldn't be so quiet about it," Law said from his room. "Not that I actively think about it, but what the killer must feel, right now. Powerful and mighty."

"Of course, _you'd_ compliment that sort of thing," Dr Hina mumbled.

"Tell us the details, doc," he said. "How were they killed?"

"You don't need to know that. It'd only keep you up at night."

"But not for the reason you'd think."

"Sick bastard."

"Are we in any danger?" Ussop asked, peering out from his window. "We're trapped in our rooms. What if they accessed the keys to our rooms, and tried to kill us, too? Nobody could help us!"

"All keys have been accounted for," she assured him. "They are locked away."

"Not that that inspires any feeling of confidence," she heard Sanji mumble breathlessly. "If they can lure guards into a space away from the others, then they can get access to those keys and – "

"What are you so afraid of?" Zoro asked him.

"I'm not afraid! If they're going to do it, then they're going to do it! Like anyone would miss us, anyway!"

"That's not true," Dr Hina sighed. "Your families are very concerned about all of you."

"Kuina isn't very concerned."

"I'm sure mine is," Sanji muttered. "They'd breathe a little easier knowing I wasn't around."

"Are their noses clogged?" Zoro asked.

"With my father's ass juices!"

"They should take a bath, then. Flies are attracted to that sort of shit."

Dr Hina recalled that one of Sanji's fixations included winning his own family's approval. His years of anorexia had been caused by the want for perfection to at least earn their approval for his physical appearance (which made absolutely no sense to Dr Hina, considering he came from a set of four that carried similar features), and years of emotional abuse heaped on him by his father's hard expectations. He worried constantly over how he presented himself to others – always struggling to win the others' approval of him, while at the same time rejecting their views.

She still wasn't sure who this 'Kuina' was that Zoro spoke of. He never explained, and would get frustrated when it seemed that no one else knew of her. But Zoro didn't have family – he was turned over to the institution by island authorities after lingering too long in a nearby town, becoming threatening to townspeople when approached. He couldn't seem to speak clearly of his origins, and, while not indicating any memory loss, he just wasn't able to talk of himself. He was as much a mystery as Penguin, was.

She walked over to his room to look in on him. He was standing at the far corner of his room, looking up at the ceiling. She frowned, watching him for several moments. While he didn't show any acknowledgment of her presence, he did shuffle in place, as if he were going to move, but then resumed that same position. She tried to see what it was he was looking at, but Dr Smoker's last report indicated that he had been captivated by something beyond their sight.

She did notice that he was looking in the same area where the activity had taken place, last night. His room was directly below the area where a guard's body had been found. Maybe he'd heard the noises – it was frustrating that he could say nothing of what he'd seen or heard. Dr Smoker had also indicated that he was the first one to notice the crawlspace 'surprise' they'd found, the other day.

Despite herself, she wondered if Penguin was seeing something – _or someone_ – that no one else could see. A vengeful ghost, perhaps? She didn't believe in that sort of thing, but these events seemed a little mysterious.

At the same time, logic reasoned that it was an inside job – Dr Smoker wasn't well liked by his peers, considering that he saw the patients as humans and not just curios in the world of mental illnesses. He had dealt with them humanely, tried to reach them on a level that others couldn't. He had prevented the gruesome practice of lobotomies and electrical shock therapy to 'snap a few of them out of it', and instead chose to try and understand them. He'd dedicated hours of writing documents that detailed each individuals' diagnosis for future references for other cases, struggling to understand from ground up what made each one tick.

Trying to save them, not further destroy them.

She was concerned with the future stability of these patients in new hands – there were other doctors chomping at the bit to get their hands on them, to try new methods and render experimental medication in order to 'cure' them. She wondered if any of them understood that their future was in danger of imminent destruction caused by the doctors' willingness to kill them trying to cure them.

She walked away from their rooms, headed back to the offices as she ignored Luffy's pleas to be released. She caught sight of a detective moving her way, looking grim.

"Well, Sengoku? Any news?"

"There's no indication of entry from the roof," he reported gravely. "All keys were accounted for in the front offices' records. The guards kept a meticulous track of all check-in times during their routine patrols. If noises were heard before hand, and Dr Smoker had looked in on all the patients before venturing a look-see himself, is it possible the patients have anything to contribute to what they'd seen or heard?"

"As indicated in one of your own reports, none are able to say that they did," she said. "The only one that was still awake at that time is the only one unable to speak. He is a mute."

"Ah, that's too bad. And his behavior?"

"Dr Hina just checked on him. He is still looking up to the ceiling. It's unusual behavior for him, as he does not usually respond to outside stimuli unless physically stimulated to do so."

"I have a couple of guys up there, now. They're looking for any other hiding spaces someone may have used to set the trap. But the dust piles they found give away nothing but the trail of those that were up there before their deaths," he said with a frown. "I _do_ suspect staff involvement. But everyone we've interviewed so far hasn't shown any signs of wrong doing. It's pretty mysterious, if I do say so myself."

Dr Hina was quiet for a few moments. Then she said, "Out of all of our patients, only one walks around barefoot."

Giving her a considering expression, he asked, "Do you have any suspects?"

"There is one we are all leery of. He was accounted for. I just…"

"We can't pin something on somebody wrongfully, even if we want to that badly," Sengoku said with a heavy sigh. "We will need to follow procedure. I'm sure there is a clue here, we've just yet to find it. Patience and understanding is needed, right now. Dr Smoker was an excellent doctor – he knew what these poor souls needed when no one was able to give it to them. His death will not be allowed to go unsolved for very long. I would be concerned about your safety and wellbeing, doctor. Perhaps you should leave early, and please consider additional security. I can assign you a couple of officers of my own."

"That won't be necessary," she assured him. "Dr Hina is well and capable of taking care of herself."

Sengoku looked at her for a couple of moments. "I will do so on my own will. For my own peace of mind, then. As for now, staff is terrified. I understand that most of them on the First Floor have decided not to return until the killer, or killers, are caught. That puts this place in a bind."

"It certainly does, those cowards. You must understand, the patients here aren't violent, nor do they …all except one, excuse me. They do not display violent tendencies. They are mostly focused on themselves. They are frightened as well. I thought perhaps I can transfer them to a more secure place, if one could be located. Perhaps the town jail?"

"There is none in town that can be more secure than this. For their safety," he added. "Some of them have been in jail cells, and it wasn't fair, for them. At least, here, they receive twenty-four hour care and understanding. The jail cells won't settle their minds, and they are open to abuse by other cellmates."

"True. Some of them are quite…vulnerable. I just fear that they might be targeted by these heinous, or this _one_ heinous monster that chose to strike out on Dr Smoker. Dr Hina doesn't feel as if they are safe."

"Most keys are accounted for with the remaining guards?"

"Yes. They are located in a lockbox in the downstairs office. Only myself, Dr Smoker and another can access them. But Dr Tashigi has been on leave since last week – her mother is very ill on another island."

"I would like to speak with her. What island, you say?"

After Dr Hina told him, she gave him a skeptical look. "But Tashigi worshiped Dr Smoker. I would immediately rule her out as a suspect."

"We can't rule anybody out until the suspect, or suspects, have been caught. If you can check on the patients for the night, I'd like to escort you home."

"Someone has to be here for them. Dr Hina will not abandon them."

"I'm sorry, Dr Hina. These are not my orders. As this institution is funded by the island, your superiors are concerned for your safety. I hate to say it, but they're choosing your safety over theirs."

" _Ridiculous_!"

"I can have Madam Tsuru stop by in the morning to offer another suggestion. Or perhaps Mr Akainu can be more help?"

Dr Hina's lips tightened. She looked off to the side, to the hallway where she knew the patients were listening to every word. She felt annoyed at the slip of names, men and women that had more power than she to make certain decisions; frustrated, that with Dr Smoker's absence, these men would be rendered brain dead within the upcoming months. She could argue Dr Smoker's cases until she was blue in the face, but the times they lived in demanded answers and quick solutions to things that could not be understood.

" _Fine_ ," she muttered. "Dr Hina will conduct the night's last routine check. Their files need to be rounded up. Dr Smoker's notes to see where he'd progressed with them need to be reviewed, to where Dr Hina can figure out their future case plans."

"…right. Well. I will take a snack, here. I mean, seat," he said, correcting himself hastily as he reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew some rice crisps from a woven bag. He took a seat on the floor, causing Dr Hina to look at him with a frown, before she turned and retreated to the office to start looking things over.

She pulled together all the patients' files, and started packing them away in her bag. She then checked on the lock boxes that contained back up keys to the patients' rooms, the stairway, the downstairs office areas. The separate kitchen building and laundry area. The guard's tower. She took them all, dumping them into her jacket pocket with a loud jingle. She would find a ring for all of them, carry them with her until more staff could be appointed.

She wondered if she were missing something, if staff truly was suspect. Looking over the faces of those in her memory, she saw that no one was giving anyone any particular attention. No one put themselves in a place of danger, no one provoked the patients. Sometimes, the patients would react against staff with upset, but that was in the midst of some fit.

She then went out into the hallway to look over the unsettled patients.

"That's not very comforting to hear," Law commented from his door, minutes later. "So, we're essentially to be locked up like hens with a loose fox on grounds?"

"You are all in secure rooms," Sengoku said. "All keys are accounted for."

"Yet, four men with keys were lured into a supposedly secure spot and murdered right over our heads as we slept. But don't worry, I see what's happening, here. It might be more convenient for the islands' benefactors to get rid of the vermin draining important resources, taking funding from normal people. I don't see why you all just don't put us out on the street and let nature take its course."

"If 'nature' were to take its course with _you_ , you'd be stoned and flogged to death in the center of main street!" Dr Hina snapped at him. "Those people are convinced your hands are bloody. They see that you're released, they'll take justice into their own hands."

"Would that make Dr Hina happy?" Law asked politely.

"Shut up, Trafalgar! Vile piece of shit."

"You're going to leave us here on our own?" Ussop asked, sweating with worry. His voice cracked. "That's how it is? Locked in our room with no means of defending ourselves if we were attacked?"

"This entire mansion will be locked securely," Sengoku said firmly. "There are police officers stationed at nearly every point of entry, and they are under strict orders to watch over you. They are not to investigate anything suspicious – they will only make a note of it."

"That's not even reassuring!" Sanji exclaimed. "They're standing there like dumbasses, ignoring suspicious shit, and asked to 'take notes'? How the fuck does that make me feel any better?"

"I'm sorry that it has to come this way," Sengoku apologized as Dr Hina frowned heavily, crossing her arms over her chest. "But precautions need to be followed. As much as you guys are kept in, supposedly for the safety and security of yourselves, staff and each other, you're also safe and secure in your own rooms because of this. It is the only thing that we can think of for your consideration – we could bring you to the police station and situate you in our cells, but you will not be provided with the care you are accustomed to. And there is a chance that you'll be harassed by other inmates. We can't risk that."

"Then it makes perfect sense to leave us with some killers," Law said, leaning against the door. "I see exactly what you're saying. Clean house, but quietly."

" _No_ – "

"It's fine. I'm only speaking out loud what everyone is thinking. Why should any effort be made for our safety? After all, most of us ourselves are killers here. A pyromaniac more than willing to burn down half the town to be entertained by fire – "

"Shut up, asshole!" Ace snapped. "That was an accident!"

"Why should the island continue funding for our wellbeing? We are nothing but useless meat sacks, unfit for productivity in society. You may as well as get the job over with, yourself, Sengoku. _Pow_! Bullet to the brain like dogs. Or is that too humane for vermin like ourselves?"

"Now, it's not like that," Sengoku said with a frown. "Dr Smoker was trying very hard to help you. He essentially gave his life trying to help all of yours. Why should you be treated any differently now that he has been unjustly removed from office? We will take every effort to watch over you, but this mansion is safe. There are enough officers from this floor to the next to keep an eye on you."

"Oh? Are we safe from _them_?" Law asked curiously. "Because I recall getting my head knocked around by your goons one night. Zoro-ya himself was assaulted for resisting arrest, because they weren't aware of the correct procedure in safely arresting a schizophrenic who panicked at touch. Didn't Vinsmoke-ya get tossed into a cell with three men in the drunk tank that attempted to assault him once they recognized who his family was?"

"Thanks for bringing that up! Hey! _Are_ we going to be safe?" Ace yelled, Dr Hina hiding her expression as the incidents against the police station was released so casually. Knowing that Law had this information was only ammunition for him to use against the other patients. Sengoku flinched just slightly at the mention of his officers' wrong doings. Not _all_ of them were capable of misconduct, but there were bad apples that took their position and power out on people such as these men.

"Fuck you for bringing that up!" Sanji snapped in Law's direction. "I flattened all of them, by the way. They turned those charges on me! That's how I got here! I had 'anger issues' before Smoker decided on the real fuckin' problem."

"But being put into jail means you've done bad things," Luffy said with disappointment. "I know I didn't do anything wrong – I don't want to go there. If they said we're going to be safe here, then I believe it. Let's just stay! Let those guys come in here and try! _Hey_! Dr Hina! Please take off this vest! I can move better if you just take it off! If no one's going to be around, why should I wear it? C'mon! _Please_? Please take it off? _Please_?"

Dr Hina sighed. "First…first let's get you fed. I'm sure they're hungry. Kitchen is working on a very light meal – "

"NO FAIR! I'm _starving_!"

"I want something more than just fucking salad or cereal, or whatever!"

"Why am _I_ being punished?"

"Can I have some beer?"

" – so let us feed them, first," Dr Hina continued over the combined shouts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alasse-M** : Law's reasoning when he sent his plate back was that if it looked unappetizing to him, he just made his plate look a little more interesting. He wanted more effort put into his food. But _who_ is he appealing to when it's revealed who helps cook? :D I said I'd be 'nice'! LOL Sanji's reactions will be interesting when it all comes down to it; if he even notices, that is…Zoro's hallucinations are…interesting…if only he could express himself properly!

 **DedicatedFan** : OH…Oh my god…I'm so flattered! AH! I don't know what to say! Thank you for sticking along with my fics for this long :D! This fic is practically done – I wanted to complete it before posting it because of the content, so…yeah! Expect very regular updates.

: 4 :

Sengoku and three of his officers watched as staff set out platters of hastily sliced sandwich meats, breads and cheeses. Dr Hina ended up arguing with four of them just to settle for what was there; she and another kitchen worker distributed them evenly. Sengoku felt a little ashamed to admit that, while observing the dinner scene, it was something 'normal' – he'd expected one person to be chained to his chair, drooling sloppily, or another making weird noises and movements in the corner. He expected dramatic prayer used to encourage Christ to intervene on their illnesses, for food to be used as a punishment. He expected Dr Hina to go around the table with a rod, beating any that refused her orders or didn't pray right. Religion, he knew, played a large part in institutions like these.

He didn't miss the crosses in the First Floor hallways, the picture of Jesus in prayer in the break room. The candles in the center of the table, the little mumble under her breath as Dr Hina left a one-on-one session with a rattled patient.

He'd expected something a little more dramatic than just a bunch of men having light conversation and arguments over a small violation.

Dr Hina was maternal with her scolding, pleading for them to accept what was there; visibly frustrated when Sanji refused to eat, tossing his share towards Luffy, wanting something different from the kitchen. She warned him about the medical ward, slapped a slice of turkey over a plate, and he sullenly ripped it into small pieces, eating each one with visible effort.

When Luffy begged for seconds, she allowed him one more, then his brother the same thing. Law complained about his bread, but she refused to accommodate him any further – he was just testing her, and Sengoku could see it. He watched as Dr Hina prompted Penguin to eat, and watched as Zoro chatted to thin air, but also contribute to conversation with the others. It was as normal a dinner scene to see.

Until kitchen staff removed platters, plates and utensils. Until Luffy reached out and grabbed Law's unfinished sandwich as Law complained about their treatment to Sanji.

That was when things changed, horrifically.

Without warning, Law stood, hefted his chair up and slammed it into the younger boy's face like a bat. It was absurdly difficult for someone of his size to weld the chair in that fashion. Luffy landed face forward against the table, where Law swung the chair down repeatedly against his head, throwing his entire body into the action. For a moment, everyone thought that Luffy's head would split wide open, making a terribly loud crunch upon impact.

Ussop screamed and ran from his chair as Ace abandoned his, tackling Law from there. The chair fell to the ground as Luffy slumped against the table, blinking owlishly. For a moment, Sengoku thought he was truly unharmed. Then Luffy slumped with gibberish leaving his mouth, body struggling to stay propped as his eyes fluttered with effort. Sanji stood up without saying anything and walked back to his room while Penguin continued to eat, prompted to do so because of the movement against the table. Zoro stared, dumbfounded, before continuing to eat, intending on finishing his meal.

It took two orderlies and four of Sengoku's men to separate the two from each other, and by the end of it, Law was laughing hysterically, and Ace was forced into his room, threatened with sedatives. Dr Hina ordered for Law to be confined to solitary for his violent outburst, which didn't make sense for Sengoku to have to separate his team onto two different floors.

"I warned him not to take my food!" Law shouted with thin protest. His earlier smirking expression was completely replaced with that of a man completely bewildered, as if he'd done nothing wrong. "Why is it okay for him to take _my_ food? Why the fuck am _I_ being punished? Why is this – _it's not fair_! _This is not fair_! I'm hungry, too!"

Suddenly aware of where he was going, he screamed at being treated unfairly, kicking and thrashing as the group made way toward the stairway. His anger gave away to protesting sobs at being confined again, a completely different show from his earlier presentation.

Sengoku winced as the sound carried, and he looked over at Luffy, who looked as if he were in shock, bleeding from multiple wounds, face already welting in some areas and colored in others. Dr Hina hovered over him, frantically pressing napkins against his scalp wounds while another nurse helped him from the floor and rushed him towards the medical ward.

As this happened, he heard a faint clattering noise from the table. Penguin turned his head to look up at the ceiling once more, pausing in mid-bite. As he did so, a heavy thump sounded, causing dust to flutter down. Sengoku signaled for the police officers standing nearby to go up and check, and they rushed to the attic entrance with weapons drawn. The thump turned into a pitter patter of noise, multiple feet separating from one force and moving in every direction above their heads. Zoro looked up from his plate, then sputtered as dust fell into his eye. The sound ceased, as if everyone had stilled at once.

He heard his men burst into the attic with shouted orders. Movement sounded overhead as they began spreading out, and he tensed, listening to the shift of their weight.

Long minutes passed, and nothing happened. Zoro bumped his knee against the table as he rose up from his chair, and Penguin resumed eating. The schizophrenic made his way to the lavatory without saying a thing. The shout that the attic was ' _clear_!' made Sengoku frown. He found himself questioning what he heard, the tromping of men coming down the stairs causing Penguin to stop in mid-bite again, feeling the vibration of movement on the floor.

A couple of the officers shrugged their shoulders in Sengoku's direction, moving back into position. He wondered if the place were haunted.

By the time Dr Hina and her assistant finished stitching Luffy up and administered some sedatives to help him sleep, it was nearly midnight. His suggestion to lock Law up with the other patients caused her to refuse with a hard shake of her head.

"He is _very_ convincing," she said low. "He can convince anyone of anything, and in this state, it's easier to remove him from reaching out to other potential victims. I hope your men are prepared for his mind games."

"Of course," Sengoku relied impatiently. "But it's preferable that my men remain in a group, not - !"

"This man is capable of inspiring sympathy for him while he rips one's guts from one's throat. You've seen the pictures. You yourself put the bodies away. Don't forget. His charisma is only another tool he uses to lure his prey in close. It's better to keep him isolated. Trust me."

Because she spoke with such confidence, Sengoku believed her. After all, her experience with these men, these illnesses were greater than his, and, as she trusted him to do his job, he had to trust her to do hers. While the institution staff made sure everyone was settled into their rooms, Sengoku headed down to the basement to see if his team was comfortable with their orders. The three officers on duty looked troubled with their position, acknowledging that the separation in force was going to be difficult. The killer, _or killers_ , had the advantage.

Underneath the sound of Law protesting hoarsely of this unfair practice, Sengoku said, "Continue with our earlier order. Do not investigate anything out of the ordinary. Lock that door up firmly if anything strange happens, and, _please_ , be on utmost alert. I don't agree with this method, but the aggravation caused between patients might only serve you all some discomfort throughout the night."

"Sengoku, _hey_ , Sengoku," Law called from the cell, leaning against the bars, sniffling. When Sengoku looked over at him, he didn't feel any sympathy for the man – his acts, even if he weren't charged for them, sometimes caused Sengoku to wake up in the midst of hazy dreams. To Sengoku, Trafalgar Law was a monster barely contained behind bars. How Smoker could find any empathy or will to make him human was an act of God himself.

"Did you see that? That kid steals my food, all the time. I was just minding my own goddamn business when he stole my food. She plays favorites. Maybe you can find someone else to take her place, huh?"

"Or not," Sengoku replied evenly. "I doubt there's any other place on earth that will accept a man like you into their institution without a lobotomy, or two. The next man qualified to take Smoker's place loves to break down killers into slobbering zombies in prison systems. He's not willing to see you all as humans – he only sees you as the 'meat sacks' you've described. Trust me, you've got it good with Dr Hina, right now. At least she cages you to give you another day."

"Maybe that's what we all need," Law said. The faded red of his jumpsuit seemed to glow a little with the flickering of the candles, nearby. One of Sengoku's men was winding up the generator on the wall, but was having a hard time with it. The rusted parts made a loud, uncomfortably piercing grinding sound with the action. As a result, the basement seemed so much darker than it normally did. Sengoku couldn't help but think that this part of the mansion was comparable to Hell – with light and freedom atop of the staircase, and Jesus' gentle face looking over all. But down here, there was nothing but cold stone and wood walls, faraway dripping from some pipes, and cold, concrete floor that ended just beyond the last cell, dribbling into hard packed dirt.

The bars seemed rusted and old, and hardly able to contain a man that looked at him so dangerously. He felt unnerved, and it had been a long time since he had.

"Perhaps we would all need some skull drilling to relieve the pressure of unclean thoughts. _God_ hasn't helped us so far – man only continues to cage us, prod us, tries to venture deep inside of us to see what makes us think the way that we do. And for what? This ' _another day_ ' that you speak of, Sengoku – for whom does it really benefit? I know 'another day' for me is another nail to somebody's coffin."

"Are you really going to stand there and threaten the lives of your fellow patients, staff?" Sengoku asked him incredulously.

"With the efforts of the mysterious monsters preying on us vermin, here, it's not to say that I've had a hand in it." Law wiggled his fingers to somehow remind Sengoku that he was behind locked bars. But his smile was unsettling as he pressed his forehead against them, chuckling low. "I seem to be in the wrong place at the right time to avoid fresh accusation."

"And yet, God Himself always works in mysterious ways," Sengoku murmured. "As He's placed several different deformities into the open, He's set aside another to be found when appropriate. Whether He intends on cleaning out His own mishaps with His own hand, He's prepared Himself for the consequences of His own mistake. He's accepted it, and will take responsibilities for it. Even if it means that _none_ shall escape."

Law clutched the bars with a stubborn frown. "I don't believe in your God. I don't think I am a ' _mistake'_. Why should we follow what man has only written for others to see? It's convenient to place the blame onto whatever man's imagination makes up, for himself."

"Which makes it convenient for you, yes?" Sengoku turned to look at the others as the lights overhead flooded on, dousing the basement with power. They crackled and snapped until settling. "Believe in nothing that he says. Stand your ground."

Law's expression had changed to a resolved dislike, and Sengoku could feel his skin ripple with unease. He felt for Dr Hina's safety, feeling Law watch him with an unblinking stare as he took the stairs back to the main floor.

: :

The next day, Dr Hina wasn't scheduled to show up for another couple of hours, but he wanted to make sure the shift change for his group flowed effortlessly. The newest batch of men were bleary-eyed for the hard hour, and curious about the mansion and its mysteries, the sky still dark overhead. Birds called out with sleepy warning, and an owl hooted from the trees in the far darkness. Mice scurried over the path as the group walked up to the porch. Sengoku was relieved to see movement in the windows as they approached the front doors. Curtains fluttered back into place, and candles were doused and relit near the halls.

But as they walked in, the darkness in the hall left him with an uneasy feeling. He was for certain he'd seen candles being lit through the windows as they'd approached. He also noticed that the basement door was wide open, with no flicker of light from the stairway. He held up a hand with warning, his men on high alert. From the left, he could see light in the First Floor medical ward, and there was slight movement from there that caused a tinge of metallic rattling. A shuffle of wheels. Something like a whisper of a curse.

There was a heavy feeling all around him, as if the area were completely full of people wandering about. Some of the men behind him made nervous comments, tensing. Sengoku wasn't sure what to expect, straining to see something in the darkness that would give him an indication of what was happening. If anyone were nearby. He stepped towards the medical ward when he heard a wisp of movement to his right – he turned just in time to see a mouse scurrying by, and it raced to the stairway, squeezing itself underneath the door before disappearing.

He then motioned for a team to investigate the basement, and for a couple of men to accompany him. As they separated, Sengoku found himself nervously clenching his fists, listening for any sound of activity overhead. He heard Dr Hina's voice warning him about the charisma Law was capable of showing when he wanted something, and wondered if his men were susceptible to a killer's sweet words. He shook his head. ' _Alleged_ killer'. He was getting carried away with his suspicions, as Dr Hina was.

The medical ward was formerly the mansion's original dining room and day room. It was very organized; it was also plain, with the windows boarded over and instilled with security bars. There was one king sized bed, two large medicine shelves, a sink that operated only with a hand-pump, and a large mirror that was supposed to inspire more 'space'. It was the first place the patients stopped in to be searched for outside injuries, and as a napping room for any staff on hand that needed a break. The area was faintly lit with a single candle, which sat at the end counter closest to the bed. He saw that someone was laying there, motionless, which betrayed the earlier sounds he'd heard earlier.

Something clattered noisily to the ground, and he jerked forward, looking back to see that one of his men had bumped into a tier of metal bed pans. The man looked at him sheepishly. Sengoku returned his attention to the bed, and realized he was looking at Law. The man was strangely subdued, looking at him with a tight appearance. The closer Sengoku ventured toward him, the more he took in. The fact that Law was strapped to the bed with thick, leather bands preferred to hold patients for their safety made him suspicious as to why he was forced into those restraints; then he noticed the blood on his chin and shirt, staining the material into a dark mass; lastly, there was the foul stench of released bowels, which made it difficult stand any closer to him.

The man's face was suspiciously passive, but his eyes were glassy with shock. His jaw was abnormally tight, until Sengoku realized that it might be broken. There was intense purpling and swelling near his left ear, and a slight angle that left the mandible crooked.

" _What happened_?" he demanded sharply, reaching over to pull the candle closer to observe more of the situation. The faded red jumpsuit was stained with blood – from the chest down, clinging to Law's thin body with accusing weight. His hands were stained with it, as well. But he turned his head defiantly in the other direction, refusing to answer.

Sengoku looked at the others, to order them to go investigate the basement when one of the men that he'd sent down there earlier popped up. His face was drained of blood, and he looked moments from fainting. He held onto a supportive officer that reached for him quickly. Shaking his head violently, the man sputtered out a few words, but they didn't make sense. One of the other men hastily began winding up the generator near the door, the rusted sound snapping and sizzling as energy was gathered to power up the lights overhead. Those sparked and sputtered until flaring to life with uneasy strength. Not enough to light the entire room completely.

Sengoku pushed away from the bed, moving towards the basement with a rush of limbs. The others were spilling out onto the main floor with the same horrified expressions, retching. His teeth set, Sengoku marched down the stairs. Halfway there, the smell made itself noticed. It stung his eyes, burned his throat. It absorbed into his flesh, made his blood curdle. He slapped a hand over his mouth and continued his way down. The three men he'd stationed in the basement the night before were laying in various pieces over the concrete floor, organs spilled out. Their guts decorated the wall like Christmas garlands. Their hands missing, arms ending in jagged stumps. By observing the jagged ruin of their bodies, Sengoku noticed that their genitals had been removed.

The floor was black with blood, and he took a few moments to absorb it all. There were blackened hand prints all over the stone, as if they'd tried to climb the wall to reach the ceiling. When he lifted his eyes, he saw bare footprints over his head. The candles flicking in the sconces provided enough light to show him that someone had written 'Ha! HA! HA! Meat Sacks! All of them!' on the walls just behind the cell bars.

He looked down at the men – their expressions were of pure terror, as if what they'd seen had been unimaginably frightening. _Inhuman_. He turned to return upstairs when he caught more words just above the stairway frame.

' _I'm not mad, daddy'_ , were written there. Those words made his blood freeze. In that moment, he was looking at the face of his son – young, vibrant, alive. Looking up at him as Sengoku had to run off to attend to police business during his birthday party.

"I'm not mad, daddy," he assured Sengoku, smiling at him.

Words that would always haunt him.

He swallowed hard. He started walking up the stairs, battling his grief, horror. No one knew those words but himself. He'd never repeated them to anyone.

" _Out of all of our patients, only one walks around barefoot…There is one we are all leery of_ …"

With renewed strength, he strode back to the medical ward, and approached the bed with his features reddening. Law watched him approach, chest rising and falling with rapid breathing. Despite his earlier appearance, a mad expression split his features, and he snickered at the sight on Sengoku's face. Sengoku shouted, "How the fuck did you do it? How the fuck did you do _this_?"

Law laughed then, an awkwardly building sound, considering that he couldn't quite open his mouth, but he jerked about in his restraints – either struggling to escape, or just a reaction to his laughter. Sengoku reached out and grabbed his mouth – to shut him up, to get his answers, and Law laughed even harder. Sengoku could feel the uneven bone structure in his grasp and let go of him. He struggled to think clearly, to get his control, back. Law watched with him with wide, black eyes, chuckling and snickering as seconds past.

Sengoku had to put the scene together. He had to _think_. This man was strapped in tight to the bed – the straps held him from across the chest, stomach, and forehead. Over his hips, thighs and shins. The blood-heavy sleeves were pulled back just enough for him to see something different, and he reached out and caught one slender wrist. There were raw wounds, there, indicative of earlier restraint. Rope, it looked like. He considered his next thoughts, then looked down at Law's feet, to reach over and lift up the leg. No restraint wounds, but scratches over the top of his feet, shins. There was still gravel embedded in his skin. He straightened that pant leg back over his skin, then looked at Law again.

"What happened?" he asked evenly.

Law stopped giggling. His expression went blank. Either clenched his jaw, or allowed it to remain tight. The longer he waited for an answer, the more Sengoku realized this man had bruises around his neck, and the whites of his eyes were reddened with broken blood vessels. Thinking back to the fight he had with Ace just last night, Sengoku wondered if these were hours-old wounds.

"Are you going to talk so we can fix you?"

With a stubborn furrow of his brow, Law managed to mutter very quietly, "I soiled myself."

Sengoku figured that had been the stench he came upon, and nodded. "It appears so."

"Can I be treated _without_ those guys present?" Law then asked in that same tone.

" _After_ I contain the scene. You'll sit here and think about what you've done, and you'll never forget it."

The expression Law gave him was pure animosity. But his lips thinned, shook for a moment, as if battling words that wanted to emerge. Then he looked away, throat expanding with a clenched exhalation of air, as if killing the words before they could even take shape. Causing his veins to bulge and skin to redden. But he glared at the candle nearby and said nothing more.

Sengoku walked away, signaling for the others to follow.

: :

What made the process difficult was Law's refusal to talk. After that exchange with Sengoku, he said nothing more. Dr Hina arrived, and was promptly informed of the situation. With a troubled expression, she refused to administer any form of treatment of the man until he confessed to what happened – she held him accountable for the deaths, because it fit his MO. The entire First Floor was busy with renewed efforts on the investigation, the Second Floor team completely unaware of the events downstairs. Bodies were removed as the scene was tended to – there was no sign of the weapons involved in the dismembering. But one of the detectives on scene pulled Sengoku aside, showing him the contents of a red bucket.

Sengoku realized he was looking at the team's missing genitalia.

"There's, ah…there's sign of ejaculate, here, and…here. This stain," the detective said, pointing towards the middle cell's bars, "is part of it. I hate to say it, sir, but ah, judging by the mixture of…this _assault_ , it…you can see here, this one – they tried to clean themselves. Tim had also found this rope. It was tossed under this box, here."

Sengoku thought of the way Law had reacted to him. The low confession. The smell. The raw wounds on his wrist. He turned away without saying anything and headed for the medical ward, where two of dayshift nurses lingered, clearly uncomfortable. He called for one of the doctors on scene, pulling over a room divider and asking for privacy. His unit was reluctant to leave, but did so at his prompting. The nurses looked on with concern, but he waved them off, as well. All who remained was himself and the man strapped to the bed.

Saying nothing for a few tense moments, he looked the man over, waiting for the doctor to arrive. He remembered Dr Hina's warning, and his own instincts were at war with each other. The scene in the basement was horrific, but it had Law's hands all over it. He took the steps necessary to look at his bare feet. They were dirty, but not as black as the feet prints on the ceiling; he did not see any clean spaces on his heels, or any unusual build up under his toenails to indicate any sort of suspicious activity.

But the blood on him wasn't his – where did it come from?

"We can't fix it if we don't know what happened," he said low, hands at his sides.

The hatred on the man's face did not subside. But his jaw had swollen even further, purpled garishly against his pale skin. In the day light, Sengoku could see dried blood clusters clinging to his nostrils, to the side of his left eye. He could see that the wounds on his hands were defensive wounds – palms scraped, fingernails dirty. But Sengoku was careful not to feel sympathy, or even reach for any conclusions on Law's behalf.

There were still three men murdered.

The doctor arrived, looking at him nervously. As one of the sanatoriums' medical staff, he was familiar with the patient. His hands shook as he asked Law permission to approach him, and when Law said nothing in response, he approached him anyway. Sengoku watched as the doctor examined him first with a hasty visual inspection, then retreated to gather some supplies.

Half an hour later, Sengoku left the medical ward to head up to Dr Hina's office. He found the woman sitting with the other patients, a pensive look to her face. Luffy was hobbling around the room, glassy-eyed and knock kneed, but his energy levels were high. His face was bruised and welted from yesterday's incident, but he made it look as if he weren't affected at all. He was busy detailing an adventure on the seas he had 'one time', and had launched into a tale of a fight he won against some clown pirates.

Ussop was drawing on large sheets of paper, trying to convey Luffy's story into a "visual masterpiece". Zoro was napping underneath one of the windows, Ace sleeping near the empty fireplace. Sanji was chewing on a toothpick, turning the pages of what looked to be a cookbook. He was seated on a couple of pillows, bony body encased in a sharp two piece suit that looked worn and faded at the elbows and knees. A hand-me-down from someone a little bigger. Penguin was seated in one of the heavier chairs, staring at his lap. Someone had attempted to fix his hair, today, but it was falling back over his eyes in waxy pieces.

"Let's talk privately," Sengoku said to her, indicating that she follow him.

"Hey, what's going on downstairs?" Sanji asked curiously. "That guy break out and kill everyone?"

"No."

"Kuina said that it wasn't him that did it," Zoro said, lifting his head with a sleepy expression. He yawned heavily. "He was already chained up."

Sengoku frowned at Dr Hina. "I'd appreciate if things weren't being repeated so close to curious ears."

" _No one_ has said anything regarding the noise downstairs to me, here. Staff knows to keep news to themselves," Dr Hina said tightly.

"What _happened_? Should we be concerned?" Sanji asked, noting the stand off. "Did people get killed again?"

" _Oh my god_ ," Ussop uttered, straightening up from the floor as Luffy paused in mid-step. "Oh my god, what happened?"

Dr Hina gave Sengoku a dirty look, but marched towards her office. Sengoku looked at Zoro with a concentrative frown, then followed after her.

Sanji looked at Zoro. "What happened?"

"The jelly pops went back, but that guy was already pretty angry," he said gravely. "It didn't help at all when he said 'no'. So…I don't think we should be that concerned about our weight fluctuations."

" _Goddamn_ , you make absolutely no sense at all when we really need it," Sanji said with frustration. He set the book aside, rising to stand. Then looked down at himself, cuffing his sleeves hastily. In the daylight, Ussop, from his position on the floor, could see a faded '2' on the pocket, where the material had been removed. "I'm going to go help make lunch. It's standard procedure, and Dr Hina said nothing about me not doing it, today."

Ussop noticed that Sanji had very conveniently waited for her to be out of the room to make this move. He supposed it was for the best. He nodded. "Right."

"Make good dessert! Make something meaty! Something rich! I want something like pasta! Something to make me poop!" Luffy called after him, as Sanji headed towards the dining room elevator.

With the shortage of staff and the appearance of his clothes, it was easy for him to slip past the orderlies that were answering questions the police were asking of them. Once on the First Floor, he then observed the scene at the basement with casual dismissal. Not interested to see the scene that made the doctors nervous. As far as he knew it, all of them were crazy – Law just tended acted on his impulses.

He then headed towards the medical ward because there was activity from the doorway that made him curious. The police officers on scene looked at him with disapproval, but none of them were men he'd seen yesterday. They looked away, assuming he was only part of the sanatorium's staff. He closed his jacket tightly to hide the shirt that was part of the sanatoriums' issue.

He walked in without a shred of hesitation, noting that there was a police officer standing near the sink, and there was no sign of medical ward staff. There was an open file on the countertop, and what looked to be pharmaceutical supplies, ready for distribution; he immediately ventured in that direction. His family's doctor had him on barbiturates for his intense mood swings and anxiety – Dr Smoker had cut that out of his system after they admitted him, but it didn't mean Sanji lost the craving. He was disappointed in not finding any to take, turning away with a frown. There was a trashcan colored with red tape and warning labels that held the remains of a familiar red jumpsuit. He walked over to the bed with a clearing of his throat, revealing nothing in his expression as he looked over a strangely subdued Law.

"Requests for lunch?" he asked, eyes roving over the wiring that kept his jaw clenched. "Soup, it looks like. What kind of soup?"

For a few moments, Law's eyes burned with indignation and fury, but Sanji showed no concern about it. He did not care what the man's story was. Whatever happened, he'd know about it later. He just figured Law mouthed off to the wrong person and had it blasted, if Ace hadn't done so last night.

"Tomato or minestrone?" he insisted. "I don't have all day. Lunch needs to be served, soon. I don't want that sandwich shit that was dished out, last night. If you're hungry, _what do you want_?"

At the lift of an index finger, he nodded. He gave a relieved expression, having felt his fingernails digging into his palm as he dreaded the second choice. "Tomato."

He strolled off, heading for the kitchen building. He noted the presence of body bags folded neatly on a nearby table, the sight of closed buckets with warning labels. The basement smelled like bleach, ash, blood. It made his stomach roil, but then again, it didn't matter to him. It was interesting that Law was in the state he was in, and that Sengoku looked agitated. He would have to keep an ear out to hear the story.

Fifteen minutes later, being escorted back to the break room by one of the orderlies that had to admit that Sanji had slipped out of their notice in the activity around them, Sanji watched as a pair of policemen carried out two different body bags in each hand. Each one looked no bigger than a wastebasket's worth of weight. Nose wrinkling with disgust, he turned away and complained about seeing a mouse at the base of the stairs, its back snapped in half, like someone had stepped on it. What made it worse was that someone's heel had deposited pieces of fur and blood for a couple of steps up, the orderly calling for a janitor to clean it up.

Neither of them noticed the streaks of black along the rails, as if someone's hand had dragged over it, moving up to the Second Floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alasse-M** : it's not Sanji's place to be involved – and he's more concerned with escaping the rest of his food than what's happening to other people. It was convenient for him. As for Law, sympathy might be hit or miss as the story progresses.

 **DedicatedFan** : Zoro's mind can only speak for itself – whether he's addressing the living or not, Kuina is definitely not someone anyone else can see. As for any hints of LawSan – well, it depends on how you see it! **;D** Happy New Year!

: 5 :

Later that night, Sengoku and the others watched in heavy silence as Law was wheeled to his room by a visibly nervous nurse. The other patients were locked in their rooms, but were watching from their windows, saying nothing as the man was wheeled into his without explanation. Sengoku that he'd heard Ace snicker. The policemen set to watch over the patients for that night looked at each other nervously, obviously discomforted by the events of the past two days.

Law kept his head lowered so he wouldn't have to look anyone in the face, fists bunched tightly in the blanket over his lap. Around his head, from jaw up to the top of his skull was a white sling that acted as a wrap for the setting of his jaw – it had only been dislocated, which had bothered the doctor looking him over. Law had then grinned at him easily after that, which led to Sengoku's suspicions that he'd only, _somehow_ , injured himself. But that did not explain the other injuries – very real injuries caused in a very real assault.

Sengoku tried not to feel anything inside of him as he'd watched the doctor insert the sutures – he had to trust his own judgment based off evidence, facts, and Law still hadn't said a thing after their conversation, and refused to acknowledge Dr Hina. He knew there were bad apples on the force – he knew that Law had a way of convincing others close to him. But Sengoku hated the feeling that this was _still_ an assault, and Law was _still_ a victim.

Tomorrow morning was the earliest Dr Akainu would make it out to the island, and Sengoku had seen that Dr Hina was very frustrated with this. She felt that once that man set foot onto the mansion's floors, none of the patients would have a chance. Especially this one.

Dr Hina crossed her arms over her chest as she followed the nurses into Law's room. She helped pull back the blanket to his bed as the nurses locked the wheelchair in place and lifted him out.

He couldn't open his mouth to complain, but he made pained noises as they set him on his bed, prompting him to lay back. Dr Hina said nothing as they removed the wheelchair from his room and set it out in the hall, near Penguin's room. She held out a set of handcuffs, cuffing one of his wrists to the bedframe as he glared at her.

"Sengoku feels that this precaution is needed," she muttered darkly, avoiding looking at him. She kept herself steadfast on her actions, a little rougher than normal to prove that he was incapable of tricking her in any form. "It can't be helped, especially if you have nothing to say about last night's actions."

Frustration laced her words as she checked the lock. She gave the room a cursory once over, then turned to leave with the others. It bothered her as he chuckled low in his throat, giving away to muffled laughter. Glaring back at him, she slammed the door shut and wiped her forehead. It felt warmer than what they were used to, the air dry and heavy, almost like how it was in the summer.

"We are locking it down, for the night," she said slowly. "Tomorrow…Dr Akainu will be taking over. If you have any grievances…now is the time to express them. I've notified your families regarding your continued care, here, and…hopefully they'll receive the message by Friday."

"That name sounds real familiar," Ace muttered from behind his door. "Smoker used to talk of him real slow, like."

"Akainu is a man that is willing to make any changes necessary, even so far as to forego compassion or made progress," Dr Hina said slowly, fiddling with her fingers. "Things will change, here. I'm sorry."

"He's stricter?"

"He doesn't sound like a good guy," Luffy muttered, banging against his door with his knees.

"His methods are a little more harsher than ours have been. And unfortunately…this is all I can give you. I apologize. I wish I had been able to make more headway with the lot of you, but Dr Hina has done all she can for you. Akainu is over me. I just…it's unfortunate the way things have worked out so far, here. Tonight, all of you watch over each other. The killer, or _killers_ , are still on the loose."

"This is bullshit," Sanji said from his room, straightening up to look through the window. "Because not only does that sound bad, it sounds like Akainu isn't any better."

"I will see you all in the morning, God willing," she said, bowing her head. She turned to assist with the orderlies and police officer to make their rounds through the mansion, her hand going to the ring of keys in her jacket. That left Sengoku standing there in the middle of the hall, fiddling with his pockets with reluctant action.

"It's up to God's hands, now, what happens next," he said with a low sigh. "We weren't able to make any headway regarding this morning's incident. The only person left alive refused to talk about it."

"Didn't seem like he could," Sanji pointed out.

"Oh, he can. And for right now, he's still a number one suspect. It was his MO down there that we spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up."

From Law's room came a low, lazy chuckling. Ace hit his door with frustration.

"Then _why_ is he allowed to be locked up with the rest of us?" he cried. "It's unfair that we're supposed to exist alongside this criminal!"

"Because his hands are clean every time we catch up with him. I'm sorry. But God will make it right. I'm sure of it."

"Don't worry, Ace, Jesus always watches over the good ones," Luffy assured him. "That's why we're still here. I think tonight we'll be fine. Because we're all together. And we can help each other."

"We're going to be murdered in our own rooms! We can't get out!" Ace cried. "We're not even allowed anything to defend ourselves, with! This is fucking unfair! We might be broken, but we shouldn't be treated like shit like this! An' it makes no sense a'tall that that jerk's locked up with us! He's doin' it, I _swear_ he is!"

Sengoku sighed low. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better…I will be here, tonight. I will watch over you."

"That makes me feel better," Zoro said, nonplussed. "Older men usually go a lot faster than most."

" _Right_?" Luffy cried.

Sengoku wasn't sure what they were talking about, but since the patients started to calm themselves, he turned and made his way to the break room. He looked at the portrait of Jesus atop of the empty fireplace, and nodded at him.

: :

When the downstairs grandfather clock chimed twelve, Sengoku was startled awake. He was surprised to find himself in the chair facing the wide doorway of the room, a book in his lap. He had been reading over Smoker's journals of the patients he'd dealt with, and had found more reason to like the other man. Instead of labeling the individuals as cases, he'd spoken about them fondly. He detailed personal notes on their individual illnesses, and added in the things he saw of family visits. Sengoku would not look at the island's wealthy Vinsmokes in the same light, but he'd always felt Judge was a shady man. This journal gave away serious issues Sengoku could use to form a case with on Sanji's behalf.

But after reading through the rest of Smoker's notes, Sengoku was uncomfortable to admit that nearly every man here had some sort of father issue. Abandonment, abuse, trafficking – Smoker had been close to pinning down the roots of each man's case to their father contributing in some way. Because it hit so close to his own home, Sengoku felt uncomfortable looking any more into it. He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep.

He rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses and made to close the book to go put it away when he realized that something was different about it. While he was sleeping, someone had marked all over Smoker's notes with a black crayon. What was alarming was that he had to turn the book around to read these rugged scrawls – someone had written over the pages standing that close to him, leaving him unaware.

'I'm not mad, daddy.'

'Daddy always leaves me.'

'Am I not good enough?'

Hand shaking, he turned the page, finding pictures of grinning faces – some had devil's horns, others with halos. Another page had a full rendition of the devil beckoning someone into a dark doorway. Another had an arrow pointed at him – or was it pointed _away_ , now that he had turned it?

He looked up, immediately wanting to confront Law – that grinning face was something Sengoku was sure he'd do. But his eyes immediately locked on the dark figure standing in the doorway. There wasn't enough light for Sengoku to see his face, but he could see that it was one of the patients. Once the man realized Sengoku was looking at him, Sengoku saw the whites of their teeth as they grinned wide. Then that person stepped back into the hall, disappearing from his view – stepping back into the darkness.

"Hello? _Who's there_?" Sengoku demanded, setting the book down and looked for the candle nearby.

As soon as his voice rang out, there was a frantic dash down the hall – but it was an odd sound, for the footfalls were definitely that of a child's. Not even a moment later, a boy laughed before a door slammed shut, causing the walls to ring. The picture of Jesus on the wall had been turned upside down, he noticed. There were black handprints on it, where the person had touched the frame in order to do so. ' _Save us_!' was written in charcoal underneath it.

Bewildered to hear the sound of a child, Sengoku started off in that direction. He wondered where the nearest police officer was – the hall was devoid of their presence. The doorway to the stairway was shut tight, and there was a candle on top of the table at the end of the hall. He looked in the direction he'd heard the boy laugh. It was impossible – not even Luffy's voice was that young.

He made to step out to investigate when the sound of one of the dining room chairs shifted over the floor.

" _Be quiet_!" someone hissed urgently. "He'll hear us."

Sengoku strode in that direction. He looked in to see an empty room, but he crouched with effort to look underneath the table. The candelabra on the shelf rattled a little, as if someone had reset it. As he straightened up, one of the crosses on the wall shifted slightly to tilt. He saw the movement, but he figured it was only a mouse scurrying about. It made more sense. One of the chairs shifted again, and it was the one nearest him. He was facing the room in such a way that he did not miss the movement, and he knew no one was standing there to do so.

" _Shh_!" someone whispered again to his right, and the hairs on his skin stood straight up. Holding the candle up as he walked into the room, he felt as if he'd just intruded onto something. The room was hot, the air heavy, and sweat beaded upon his skin. But he felt unnerved, as if he were witnessing something wrong. The room gave him nothing – he could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock downstairs, and the sound of someone snoring. He heard the rustle of blankets, the creak of a bed as someone moved. Not an alarming sound.

The window rattled gently, as if the pane were being prompted open. As he looked in that direction, stepping in further with the candle up, he expected to see someone there. But the light gave nothing to him.

"Hell works faster," a boy said too close to his ear, and Sengoku reacted with a hard jerk backward, gasping tightly. As he stumbled to catch himself, the boy laughed before the sound carried off down the hall once more. All at once the doors opened, creaking noisily on their hinges. Sengoku had enough time to recover his step and rush out, just in time to see the office doors swing wide open. The medical ward down the hall even had their doors moving in unison. Then, all at once, they all slammed shut. The reverberation from the movement caused his heart to jump against his ribcage.

"Shh! _Quiet_!" that earlier voice hissed, an impatient whisper.

Sengoku was sweating hard this time, aware of building noises behind him. They were multiple voices mumbling at once, a buzz similar to that coming from a bee's hive. He couldn't pick out individual phrases or words – just that there were many people whispering at once. Jerking around, wax spilling over his hand, he looked down the hall towards the patient's rooms. The candle on top of the table flickered out, leaving behind just a wisp of smoke.

"Fucking bitch!" someone shouted angrily, the floor thumping with heavy footfalls. Sengoku whirled around, expecting to see someone coming up to him. He heard harsh breathing, a faint whistle of someone exhaling hard through their nose. He felt his clothes flutter with a hot gust of wind, bringing with the noise something that smelled stale. The footsteps rumbled around him, but there was no one there that he could see.

" _You'll see me then_!"

"Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. _Father all powerful, have mercy on us_ ," he muttered hastily to himself, unable to think straight.

" _GOD ABANDONED US TO THE LIVING_!"

Something knocked heavily on a door, but he couldn't even pinpoint where it was coming from. Panic made him breathe hard, struggling to comprehend what was happening around him. Sweat soaked the collar of his shirt, and the candle shook in his hand. Once he realized that the knocking sound was closer than he thought, he started turning in that direction. One of the patient doors was opening, hinges creaking noisily.

"You're a bad person," the boy whispered in an admonishing tone.

" _Who's there_?" Sengoku called out, voice trembling slightly. He jerked backward as the door slammed shut, locking. He started moving in that direction, fumbling to look for the keys Hina had given him. "Who's there? _Law_? Come out here."

As he neared the door, he heard the low chuckling coming from the only person that found amusement in terror.

"Don't go," a man said, but it was tinny, coming from far away. Sengoku reasoned that it was only part of the phenomena, and dismissed it. All fear had left him at that moment, replaced by indignant anger. _Fury_. He jerked the door open to look into his room.

He was shocked to see that Law was sleeping deeply, still handcuffed to his bed. But that didn't stop him from striding in and grabbing him by his shirt, shaking him awake. Law was so startled by the action that he moved to yell, but the heavy wrapping around his jaw prevented that. He could only give a clenched sound, looking at Sengoku with clear confusion.

Sengoku stared down at him for several moments, then looked away. He let go of his shirt, reaching down to jerk on the handcuffs. They clanged on the metal bedframe while Law looked at him with disoriented shock, unsure of what to do or say. Sengoku realized that this man had not been awake – but he was very sure he'd heard Law chuckle. He would not forget that sound.

"This is you, isn't it? _You're_ doing this!" he accused sharply, glaring at the man.

Law used his hands to gesture incredulously before the knocking came again. Hearing it, he looked at Sengoku for answers, Sengoku looking away from him. He listened for any sign of that knocking belonging to his men, but nothing more followed it. He shifted away from the bed, looking around the man's room. It was nearly devoid of furniture, belongings. A set of clothes sat folded on the floor, along with a pair of loafers. A Bible sat against that. To the left of the bed was a milk crate, and there was a single sheet of paper sitting there.

Because it seemed so out of place, Sengoku moved towards it, Law watching him with utter mystification. He followed Sengoku's movement as the older man bent and picked up the paper, looking over the contents with a tensing jaw. He then looked at Law, Law looking back at him with confusion.

Showing him the paper, hand trembling, Sengoku asked, "Did _you_ do this?"

Law squinted at the content, then shook his head. He held up his hands to show that he didn't have any access to the charcoal used to make the picture. He watched Sengoku warily as the man stared at him distrustfully, then looked back at the picture. He turned away from Law to look over the milk crate, searching for the materials necessary. Someone had drawn him with his head cut from his body, real blood staining the ends of his neck. It was still wet, glistening in the candlelight. It was only a stick figure, but his features were there.

He turned to address Law again when he realized the man was standing right next to him, kitchen knife in hand. He felt horrendous pressure in his throat, and he stumbled backward to inhale with a shout. But as he did so, he tripped over the milk crate, catching sight of someone else standing behind Law, just on the other side of the bed. Sengoku reached up to his throat, feeling it spill with his own trachea, blood slipping through his fingers.

Law covered his mouth to muffle his snickering as Sengoku hit the floor, struggling to breathe. The other person did nothing. Sengoku couldn't even see who it was; the candle he'd dropped had rolled away from him. He couldn't make a sound as Law handed the knife off behind him, and took the step necessary to stiffly stand close to Sengoku. Panic, pain, and horror caused millions of thoughts to flash through Sengoku's mind. Eyes wide, struggling to put the pieces together, he watched as Law held up his ring of keys.

He tugged at the wrapping around his head in order to speak, saying shortly, "You should've been nicer to me."

: :

Ussop lifted his head. He heard the strange sound of a wheelchair being pushed down the hall, and he took a few moments to let the noise wash over his thoughts. Sleep left him sluggish and disoriented, but once he realized what the sound was, he brushed a hand through his hair. He wiped his face then sat up, wondering what was going on outside. He didn't hear any voices belonging to the orderlies or nurses, and wondered what Law did this time. He walked up to the door very quietly and looked out the window in time to see the wheelchair coast by with no one in it. Startled, he pressed his face against the mesh wiring over the window, seeing light sputter to life down the hall.

Maybe the officers on duty were just playing with each other to pass the time. The wheelchair turned into the wall with a clatter of metal and rubber, and Ussop clenched his teeth. He turned his head to look at the end of the hall and realized he was looking at Law's smug expression.

Ussop shoved away from the door, panicked. His breath caught in his throat, sure he was only having a nightmare. That man _was_ the killer, he was sure of it. How did he get out? Where were the policemen? Where were the orderlies, the guards?

He heard the slow knock on his door, and jerked away from it, shivering.

"Knock knock!" a boy called out, and Ussop's panicked breathing caught in his throat. He was sure he'd heard a child, but his mind had to be playing tricks on him. There were no children in Wickem. His skin crawled.

"I said, knock _knock_."

His throat tightened. He jerked back towards his bed and jumped back onto it, shaking. He didn't dare call out for help. He thought that if he did so, Law would definitely kill him. Maybe the man would just leave him alone. After all, Ussop had done nothing to him. He avoided him. Ussop jerked the blankets over his head, scared witless as he sat cross-legged within the center of his bed.

He listened for more sounds of the man moving about, but it had gone silent. He mumbled a prayer, over and over, hoping for some divine intervention. Something in the hall shifted – something heavy. It continued to make a slithering sound, as if something were being dragged over the floor. Ussop didn't want to know. If Law had killed others, _he didn't want to know_. If he just kept himself quiet and still, the man would leave him alone.

Hands in prayer form, Ussop mouthed the words repeatedly to himself, listening to the sound paused outside his room.

He felt eyes on him. Not just one pair, but many. As if several people were standing around his bed, looking at him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and struggled not to utter any scared noises, not wanting to attract attention.

"I said, _knock knock_ ," the boy said right outside of his blanket, and Ussop screamed despite himself. Several different sets of hands pulled at his blanket, hitting him. He flailed and screamed, throwing his arms out, trying to escape. The boy laughed, and Ussop rolled off his bed, hitting the hard floor with a tumble. As he managed to escape the blanket, he saw that his room was completely empty. His hard, frantic gulp for breath was the only thing audible around him, and he looked to the window to his room, expecting to see someone peering in.

The floor underneath him rattled fiercely – as if something massive were knocking on it.

" _Who's there_?" he cried – but not in response to the boy.

"Boo!" a man said from behind him, causing Ussop to jerk around to look. He thought he'd see Law, expecting the man to be there, but it wasn't. His mouth fell open as he saw the whites of teeth in a widening grin, the faint light from the window giving Ussop little to use. But the shadow straightened away from him, keys rattling into the lock of his door as someone made to unlock it.

Terror leapt through him, his heart racing a thousand miles an hour. He climbed to his feet, flying over his bed to escape the shadowy man standing in the corner of his room.

"Say, 'Boo' _who_?" the boy whispered from his right.

Ussop screamed again, running for the door. He pushed hard before jerking back, tapping on the doorframe three times. Then pushed again, racing out into the hall, nearly stumbling into Law as he stepped aside. Ussop went straight for the only source of light in the hall – the medical ward.

Law looked after Ussop's fleeing form with amusement, finding it difficult to remove the key from the lock. Once he did, he waited for the room to empty. Someone mumbled a prayer to Jesus to watch over them.

"God is only correcting his mistakes," he said low, moving to the wheelchair so that he could push it ahead of him. "I will not be punished for following His command. His will leads me. I will not be punished if no one is left to speak."


	6. Chapter 6

: 6 :

At the sound of keys jingling, Ace lifted his head, slowly attuning himself to the world of wakening. It was much too dark for it to be near morning, and he blinked sleep-heavy eyes as he wondered what exactly he'd heard to wake up.

"You can't be _that_ angry…it's not your fault."

"People should be nicer to me."

Ace lifted his head again, unsure of who was talking. The voices were different from each other, speaking so low that they were either down the hall, or whispering amongst themselves in the next room. But that would mean they were in Ussop's room, and none of those voices were Ussop. He wiped his mouth, sitting up slowly.

"They won't if you do this."

He furrowed his brow, unsure of the content. But it sounded a lot like Law talking – to himself? There was another voice that was nearly his, but it was a little lighter. It suddenly occurred to him that, while Law was considered a psychopath, he hadn't heard the doctors talking about any diagnosis. They all had labels – but Law's hadn't been definite. Was he talking to himself in his room, much like how Zoro communicated with himself? Or was there somebody else with him?

At the same time, Ace knew he couldn't just call out – if that man was the one killing everyone, he couldn't draw attention to himself. He was defenseless without a weapon, and if Law had an accomplice – he could picture the man going about his torture in a different way. He tensed, laying back down on his bed, clutching his pillow. He was wide awake, eyes staring at the darkness, listening to the sound of movement.

Laughter rang out as someone ran past the doors, but it caused his skin to ripple. It was the sound of a kid, and it sounded otherworldly. Like the voice came from a radio someone carried – but the one they had was located downstairs, in the medical ward there. The voices drove Zoro crazy, so it had been banned to a different location. Ace listened, and he could identify the sound of voices talking again, and he strained his ears to catch the content. It was as if two people were sitting close together, hiding their conversation behind one hand as they whispered to each other. It was difficult picking out most of the words, but the content came together after much concentration.

"Let's just go home."

"There is no home to go to."

"Ha! Ha! You're right."

 _He's definitely crazy_ , Ace thought to himself with building horror. He was starting to convince himself that it was only one person talking. The voices were too similar, with barely any spaces in between. Maybe the man had a multiple personality syndrome – it would explain the crazy switches in mood and expression. But at the same time, Ace had to wonder if it were just his personality that was _that_ extreme.

He heard the jingle of keys, and the sound of footsteps in the hall once more. Ace wondered where Sengoku was, where the police officers were. There was too much freedom in movement in the halls, and he heard the sound of the boy laughing again, from further away. He swallowed tightly, unsure of what to think. He wondered if he should panic, if he should get up and say something. Then he clutched his pillow tight with resolve, and pushed away from his bed. As he did so, he saw someone take a step back towards his window, as if they had intended on walking towards his bed. It startled him to see that movement, so he performed a double take, noting that he could only see shadowy legs just below his window – the sight itself didn't make any sense at all. Where was the upper body?

Squinting hard, sure he was only seeing things, Ace turned to face that direction.

Those legs shifted away from the window, side stepping towards the right, further into the shadows of his room. Before he could say anything, taking in the sight of bodiless limbs, he heard a hard exhale behind him. He turned to see how someone managed to step up to him in that moment and realized he was hearing the sound of Apoo breathing hard behind him. He wouldn't ever forget that sound. The sound ceased very suddenly before launching into a high pitched scream, similar to that one released when Law had spoken to Apoo that one day.

Ace screamed back in reaction, leaping away as the sound pierced his ears and rattled his insides. He automatically struck out to get space between them, and his hand swept through hot air. Apoo laughed, and the sound faded away, the sound of someone heavy running through the hall catching his attention. Ace struggled to catch his breath, his hands moving to his ears as the residue of the sound lingered. He looked over to see that he was completely alone, but those voices had started up again.

"They'll never accept us there. We just have to find another place to stay."

"We can't go that far."

"It's not fair."

"It's not fair to us."

"It's not fair that you're doing this."

"This is bullshit."

"Leave us alone."

" _Leave us alone_."

"Let me talk to him in peace, please."

"Goddamn it, _shut up_!" Ace shouted, driven slightly on edge as the voices argued amongst each other, each of them similar in tone, but different in manner. All of them silenced at once, and the stillness afterward made his skin crawl. He looked back towards the shadows, brushing his hair from his face, looking for those legs. They were gone, and the more he stared, the more he wondered if he'd even seen what he had at all. He looked back towards the door, listening for Apoo. Wondering if he were dreaming.

Wickem had never been considered 'haunted'. He didn't recall ever running into unusual situations, or even hearing the staff whisper about such things. All he knew of the place was that it was for 'crazy' people, and that their only horror was receiving treatment – from staff, from other patients. The only 'ghosts' were those Zoro spoke to – Zoro was the only one that spoke to himself and to things that were beyond anyone else's vision.

But Ace was sure of what he heard. He was _sure_ that Apoo had been behind at him, and he was _positive_ those legs were moving on their own.

Those voices…he was sure they were coming from Law.

He looked over to the door and rushed it, banging against it as he pressed his face against the mesh wiring of the window, looking out in the hall. The only light visible to him came from down the hall, near the medical ward. Something squeaked as it moved, and he craned his head to see that someone was pushing the wheelchair through the darkness towards him. He blinked heavily, wiping his eyes. No one was pushing the thing. The spokes glittered with the faraway light as the chair stopped just outside of his door.

"It's too bad you're awake," Law said from just out of his line of vision, and Ace whipped his head around to see the shadow of the man standing just off to the side, playing with a large ring of keys. He tutted, shaking his head from side to side. The more his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the more Ace could pick out his individual features.

"You fucking bastard! How did you get out? I _knew_ it was you, all this time!" Ace shouted at him, hitting the door with a fist. " _Everyone_ knew it was you!"

"Everyone had their speculations, yes, but did anyone see me actually do those things?" Law asked on a low purr, smirking. "Was there anyone alive to point their fingers at me, and say that it was me?"

Ace felt his breath building in his chest, and became conscious of his fists curling at his head as he glared at the other man. "Where's Sengoku?"

"In my room. Why? Do you need him?"

"You killed him, didn't you?"

Law opened his mouth to answer, speaking with no trouble at all. Ace had to wonder if he'd really been hurt in the first place. It was too dark to tell if he still wore injuries.

"I admit to this one," Law then answered slowly. "It was a necessary action. He woke me out of a sound sleep, intending on attacking me. After what happened to me the other night, I did not appreciate having a man looming over me so suddenly."

" _Whatever_ that means, jerkoff! You did something to him to cause that action! You must've set him up! Excusing your fucking actions as 'just cause'! You're insane!"

"Well, this is Wickem, after all…but in all honesty, Ace-ya, there's nothing to pin me to it," Law said, smiling lightly as he jiggled the keys once more.

"Bring it on, jerk. _Bring it on_!" Ace snarled, hitting his door. "Come in here! Come in here _right now_! You fucking coward!"

"Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for another time and place. I've already have a mouse loose," Law said, flipping the keys over and over in his hand. "I can only do two at a time per night, unless there's a more unusual circumstance. Like last night."

"Fuck that! I'm going to wake everyone up!"

"First off, Ace-ya, hold that thought – as easy as it is to whip everyone here in a frenzy, know this. I have a friend taking care of them, to allow them to sleep easy. Most of them are terrible sleepers. You, yourself, have difficulties, too, sometimes."

" _What the fuck does that mean_ \- ?"

Finger to his lips, Law whispered, "Shh. _Listen_."

With much doubt, Ace crinkled his forehead. As he attuned himself to the silence around him, quite aware that he should've woken someone up, he started to hear soft voices around him. There was a woman humming a tune over and over, a lullaby with ghostly weight to it. ' _Brahm's Lullaby_ ', he realized. The more he focused on that singular noise, the more definite it became. The hum grew with sound, a slight buzzing surrounding it, as if the woman was humming from a field of bees. It made him sweat nervously, pressing his forehead against the mesh wiring of his window, vaguely picking out the tune without words. But he couldn't tell which direction it was coming from – whether it was from the rooms, or from a short distance away, the sound was easily lost amidst the activities happening in front of him.

" _Who the fuck is that_?" he asked himself, bewildered. He couldn't imagine it to be Dr Hina, or any of the nurses from the first floor. Most of the women were afraid to venture around the patients, and wouldn't do so unless there were orderlies to hold the patients in check.

"Now, hold your turn," Law said, turning away from him. He started towards the wheelchair, asking aloud, "Are you done playing with this?"

"No one wants to push me," a boy said petulantly. The voice was so loud, distinct, that at first, Ace thought Law had made the sound himself. He stared at him, wide-eyed, _sure_ that this was the appearance of a different personality.

"You know what they say. If you do, you'll wind up in one, yourself. Come along, let's catch this mouse," Law said lightly, pushing the wheelchair out of Ace's view, moving down the hall. A small hand slapped hard on the window Ace was looking out of, startling him. The boy laughed in delight, and Ace opened his eyes just in time to see the shadowy form of a child racing after Law – a blur of movement caused him to look to the side, just in time to see a man walking past, an impatient gait to his stride.

"Hey! _Hey_!" he called out with startled action, pushing against the window. It had been too dark to see exactly who it was – just that he was around his height, thin, wearing their clothes. It happened so fast to get a good look, but horror and dismay left him shaken for a moment. He sputtered before yelling out, "Sanji! _Sanji_ , you bastard! Come back! _Come back_!"

: :

Ussop shook violently with terror as he listened to the noises around him. He'd only visited the medical ward twice since he'd arrived at Wickem, and it wasn't the place he wanted to spend any more time in than he had to. It had once been the master bedroom, but it extended outward to take up two more bedrooms – in it were three twin sized beds, various shelf spaces with human and animal brains floating in jars of formaldehyde. There was a whole room dedicated to intense medical procedures, with a stainless steel bed within the center, thick straps dangling from the guard railings. The adjustable lights within the center of the room were only operational upon consistent winding from the generator box near the front door. There was a large sink, shower stall and tub off to the left of that. A hydrotherapy tub off to the right. On the other side of the room was an iron lung.

He was hiding in the biggest cabinet, holding the doors shut by the edge of his fingernails. Penguin was brought weekly to this room, where Dr Smoker routinely tried coaxing responses to him. Nothing 'inhumane', he said. Just a prick of a needle here, a shock of cold water there, hot water here, a jab there. Ace and Luffy had visited it before – Ace to have his burn wounds treated, Luffy because he was always breaking or shredding something. While it never looked quite so menacing during the day, at night, it looked entirely different. There was a one sided mirror just off the operating room, where the mirror there allowed visitors to watch demonstrations from a safe distance, communicating to the surgeon from outside via intercom.

Ussop remembered that Sanji had been here a few times, before, too. He'd had a bad habit of pretending to take his mood inhibitors, and, as Luffy wasn't a fan of pills, he often gave Sanji his share; Sanji had ended up collecting enough to overdose until the orderlies were able to find his stash – but after a few times in the medical ward, Dr Smoker had weaned him off his chemical dependency, working one on one with him in order to soothe this black period in his life. Sanji now only spoke of this area with derision. He had a fantastic memory of where things were located and how they operated, Ussop remembered. He would list off the machinery available, their uses, which cabinet the pharmaceuticals were locked up, where the medical supplies were, how much of them were stocked, and how the one-sided mirror had a secret entrance off from the first floor. When Dr Smoker asked him why sharing this information was relevant to the others, Ussop remembered Sanji shrugging it off.

"I just like knowing where things are," he'd muttered.

"It's almost as if you're sending off valuable information to persons interested in the setup," Dr Smoker had continued. "No one asked for this information, no one prompted you to share it. So why even speak of it?"

"Is the medical ward that much of a secret?" Sanji had shot back. "I wasn't aware that speaking of it and the operations inside of it were to be kept hush-hush, or I would've kept my goddamn mouth shut! If you didn't want me talking about it, then be specific!"

"It's not a secret, I just find it suspicious that you'd relate such irrelevant information so uselessly to others that don't care for it," Dr Smoker had retorted, chewing on something that Ussop couldn't identify.

Ussop remembered thinking that Dr Smoker was right. But he did note in that memory that Law wasn't present at that time. In fact, it had only been a month after when the man was introduced to the others. Law _would_ have found the information valuable. After all, he was a suspected murderer. Ussop tried to recall if Law had ever visited the medical ward. But nothing violent had ever happened to him, and whatever did happen to him last night, he was treated downstairs.

Ussop swallowed tightly, trying to control his shaking.

He grew aware of the sound of movement coming from the hall, and gulped in deep. But he was already hot and sweaty, his clothes sticking to him, and he heard the sound of water moving. Someone had turned on the hydrotherapy tub, and the sound of water hitting the tub built with strength, causing him tremendous distress. Then the shower turned on, and the tub next to it began to fill with water. It alarmed him that all of these things were turned on – they needed a hand pump to generate the power to do so. If all of them were moving at once, then there was more than one person out there. The sink's taps turned, and, soon, that, too, began to fill.

To his horror, the sound caused his bladder to twinge. He bit his lips inward, closing his eyes tight. A cabinet opened, and the sound of something falling hit the floor, splattering. Whatever it was caused multiple sounds of impact. Something else fell, and another – glass shattered.

He heard the sound of heavy breathing, a familiar sound that caused him to open his eyes wide. He was positive that it was Apoo. He was _positive_ that it was – the man had been much too big, deformed in a way, and he'd had trouble with his lungs. _Gigantism_ , Ussop remembered Dr Smoker saying. Not only was his mental illness not yet identified, but he suffered from gigantism. As a result, his body was slightly mangled to fit the size of his frame, so his lungs were tightly fitted into a deformed ribcage that made it difficult for Apoo to take a proper breath. Because of his unusual shape, his body had taken on an unusual and uncomfortable form, which had left him walking heavily, with breathing difficulties.

But when he threw a tantrum, he often breathed through his nose, creating a lack of properly gained oxygen and sometimes causing himself respiratory distress. Ussop heard that sound now, and he fretted, trembling violently as his ears grew warm. _It couldn't be_ … Apoo had died over a month ago. Strangled himself with his own innards. Why would he be back? Was he haunting the place? Was it really _him_ killing people, and not Law?

But Law _was_ the murderer – he had a way of words that made Ussop severely afraid of him. He'd spoken of the detail he took in taking human beings apart, to gathering hearts to deposit across the island in some sort of twisted treasure hunt. It agitated Ussop that, while Law spoke of these things, there hadn't been enough 'evidence' to pin it on him. There was just something off about him that made Ussop want to avoid his general direction. It was almost comparable to being eyed upon by a big predator, considered for a meal.

He heard the sound of the wheelchair moving up the hair, coming his way. Once rubber met the floor, he listened for the sound of Apoo greeting whomever it was behind the device. But instead, all of the water shut off at once.

"Ussop!" Law called out, in a near jovial tone. "Come out _, come out_ , wherever you are!"

Ussop squeezed his eyes shut. He tried not to breathe – holding his breath for as long as he could. He heard weight fall onto the wheelchair, and a childish giggle. The wheelchair took to the wide open space of the ward, scooting quickly over the floor. There was a crash of sound, Law snickering as a boy laughed – it truly gave Ussop pause as he opened his eyes, furrowing his brow. For a moment there, both voices had given away to one. Was it only a coincidence that both voices merged, or was the man capable of creating totally different tones in his own speech?

He tried to think back, trying to pick out moments in time where Law's diagnoses were given away by Dr Hina or Smoker. Was he schizophrenic like Zoro, or did he have multiple personalities? But there hadn't been a speck of time where Law had shown a completely different personality. If he wasn't laughing in the face of literal danger, he was calmly threatening lives, challenging authority, or giving anguished protest of mistreatment. All of it fit one person – there hadn't been a change in tone or characteristic, but then again… _then again_ , he was quite capable of switching emotions too quickly.

Ussop bit the inside of his cheek.

"Ussop!" a boy called out merrily. "Want to play a game?"

He shook his head tightly in response, squeezing his eyes shut. The wheelchair coasted too close to him. Again, Law chuckled, giving Ussop the thought that he was pushing himself in the chair. There was a terrible screech of rubber against tile as it stopped suddenly, twisting violently.

"Ussop…I can hear you breathing," Law taunted quietly, near the operating room.

Before Ussop could react, the boy said, "I'm going to knock on the wall six times. Okay? The further away I get from you, you have to knock three times very quickly, and I will take those steps back. Okay? Understand?"

Ussop shook again. He didn't want to play any game. He didn't want those two – _that man_ – in the medical ward with him. What happened if they caught up?

He heard the knocking on the operating room doors – six rapid knocks. The wheelchair screeched slightly. Ussop's thoughts raced with panic. _It was Law_. It was Law talking in these different voices. He was still in the wheelchair, Ussop was sure of it.

The wheelchair screeched a little as six more knocks sounded on a metal room divider. Ussop could see three of them lined up against the wall of the operating room – still far away from him. He refused to play this game. If he were wrong, if there were two people in the ward with him, then the other would find him. The other would seek him out, and kill him. He was sure of it.

He couldn't breathe.

He exhaled as slow and tightly as he could, eyes watering as his heart pounded. Six knocks sounded out again, closer, at the edge of the bed nearest the operating room. The wheelchair squeaked noisily.

"Ussop!" the boy called out in sing-song. "Ussop, where _are_ you?"

"Maybe he's not here?"

"The door's locked."

Ussop's heart continued to pound noisily. _He was sure of it_. Law was only talking to himself. The voices were too close together, and he heard the distinct switch of breath and tone as personalities spoke to each other. He was _positive_ Law had more personalities.

How was he supposed to reason and appeal to that?

"Usssssoooo _oopppppppp_!"

Six knocks sounded on the second bed as the wheelchair squeaked forward. His fingernails scraped against the wood of the cabinet, and the sound stopped.

"There needs to be _three_ knocks, Ussop," Law chided gently. "Three to allow us space from you, six to let us in close. Isn't that how it works? You take three bites in, six bites out. Three knocks in, six knocks to return. Or are you upset that we're taking the opposite route towards you?"

Ussop clenched his teeth tight, trying not to cry aloud. His mind raced. Fear caused his skin to sweat abundantly. His back ached from crouching in this position. He felt himself shaking violently as six knocks sounded on the next bed. Growing closer to him. He did not want to answer. He didn't want to knock. He didn't want to participate.

But at the same time, that urge hit him to respond. That damning, relentless urge that kept him thinking doom would fall upon him if he didn't create the right beat. If he didn't create the right taps, the right knocks. If he didn't do this, he would fail. He would die. He knew he would – and the knocks burned at him, his fingers curling tightly into fists, releasing the hold on the cabinet doors. A slight sound left him as he heard the wheelchair grow closer to him. Six knocks rapped at the shower stall. Water gathered in the tub was given a quick swish.

"Don't play in that," he heard Law scold quietly.

"I don't know what it feels like, anymore," the boy replied carelessly.

Six more knocks appeared closer, the wheelchair moving closer towards Ussop. He couldn't help but suck in a large breath, trembling as his fingers opened, spreading against the cabinet door. He could hear the other man breathe, a quiet exhale of impatience. He heard the sound of a child giggle, six knocks sounding against the support beam closest to the bed. Ussop felt his fingers moving, but there wasn't any strength in them. Six more knocks rapped hard on the bed frame, and he could see candle light moving into view, through the slits of the cabinet door edges.

He held his breath. Another few feet, and they – _he_ – would be right on him. His fingers tapped out again, just barely audible.

" _Aw_!" the boy cried in disappointment. Ussop was incredulous to hear the wheelchair inch backward. But the six knocks sounded again on the bed frame, and he returned with three knocks of his own. The wheelchair continued to move backward, and the boy gave another sound of complaint. Ussop heard himself breathing heavily at this moment, sweat dripping into his eyes.

He could picture his escape route. He could shoot away from the cabinet and run for the door – that would take him into the hall. Law could intercept him, but that door closest to him was a heavy monster to lift. Ussop could use those extra two seconds to run to the breakroom. He could use the books as weapons – he could use it to hit the man, grab the keys, and get to Ace. Somebody stronger than him. Even Luffy. Maybe even Zoro. _Anybody_ that could overwhelm that terrifying man.

His plan was good. He knocked three times and listened to the wheelchair move further back.

"This game sucks!" the boy whined. "We're losing!"

"Shh…"

Once he heard the wheelchair bump into the operating room doors, Ussop pushed out from the cabinet, and ran for his life for the hall. But tapped six times on the doorframe, panting heavily. He _had_ to do it. _He had to do it_ or something terrible would happen. He _had_ to make sure that he had his way out.

" _No_!" the boy cried, and as Ussop ran for the break room, he heard that heavy metal door open and crash wide. He heard someone move after him, and he couldn't help but utter a sound of distress.

"USSOP!" Ace shouted. " _Ussop_!"

Knowing that Ace was awake made Ussop feel better – but he _needed_ those keys. He just needed to get those keys from him. He ran into the break room without tapping on the doorframe – not even thinking of it – and found the heaviest book – a bible, and turned. He grabbed another book, and watched the doorway. Once he saw the shape of a man moving in through the open door, he hurled the book at him. The spine landed directly into the man's face, causing him to curse with surprise.

Ussop hesitated, a chill racing through him. That voice was familiar. He'd heard it, before.

But he reached for another book, still holding onto the bible. He threw that book, watching as the man stumbled. He tripped over one of the chairs, then hit the floor. Ussop watched the doorway – there were _two_ men, then. _Two_ people were loose. That wasn't Law on the floor – he heard the lazy rotation of the wheels, and he grabbed another book before running for the door.

With urgent action, he drew his foot back and slammed it into the heavy shadow man on the floor. He connected – he was surprised to connect – and he used that same motion to push the man off balance. The man was very thin, and Ussop heard the wind leave his mouth in a pained gust.

Panic and bewilderment set in, and he was rocked enough to hesitate, looking back at the man he'd felled.

"…. _Sanji_?" he asked, voice high and tight as disbelief laced his tone.

Before he could get his answer, the sound of the wheelchair grew closer. He heard the sound of Apoo breathing, again. That struggle for breath, gusty releases through a clogged nose. Ussop abandoned his question and shot outside, not even thinking to tap six. He threw one book at Law, the man reacting with a startled sound as his hands went up to protect his face. Seeing that he was seated in the wheelchair, Ussop charged him. He jumped up and plowed his feet into the man, and both of them jerked towards the floor as the wheelchair flew back and twisted violently, dumping both him and Law down. Ussop screamed noisily as he battered him with the bible in one hand, Law cursing and yelling as he tried to protect himself from the barrage.

But Ussop found the keys, and he jerked the large ring away from Law's pants pocket. He was up on his feet and running away, hearing the other man slowly rise to his feet, breathing hard. Ussop didn't question or look back – he raced to Ace's door, struggling to find the right key to open it. Ace pushed frantically at his door, looking beyond him to see where Law and his accomplice were.

He heard the sound of the wheelchair being righted, wheels turning noisily before corrected. He heard Law muttering to himself, the answer of another voice.

" _Owie_."

"Times two."

Ussop tried key after key, and it was when the lock shifted that Ussop found himself grabbed. He shrieked noisily as Ace pushed against the door to get out, but the door suddenly refused to budge, pushed back against him with tremendous strength. Ace couldn't see what was happening, but he heard the low tone of Law's voice making some admonishing noise, and a strange wheezing. He was sure it was Ussop.

Ace shouted his name, desperately surging up against his door. He hadn't heard the lock click, yet. He heard the jingle of the keys, but he was pushing so hard against it that the latch of the door hadn't yet caught. Whoever was pushing the door from the opposite side had just as much strength as he. Ace couldn't, at that moment, imagine that it was Sanji. The man wore himself out walking up the stairs. There was no way it was him fighting his own strength.

He heard the sound of a man in distress. A wheezing sound that caused Law to chuckle.

"Don't play with your food," Ace thought he heard him say when a horrendous crunch sounded out. That wheezing sound died instantly, a collection of crunches ringing out in the hallway. Ace was so stunned by the noises that he stopped pushing, and the door slammed shut. The keys jangled as the lock was activated. In the darkness and silence just outside of his room, Ace looked out the mesh wiring of his window. He couldn't see a thing.

He couldn't hear anything.

"…. _Ussop_?" he called, just barely above a whisper. Heart thundering noisily with apprehension, he struggled to hear from the other man. It had gone so still and silent that it felt he'd just woken from a bad nightmare. But he pressed up against the door, looking out into the darkness.

Seconds passed, and as he made to call again, the sliding cover to the mesh wiring snapped open, and he was looking eye to eye with an orderly that he knew was schedule for morning shift. Bewildered, Ace pushed away from the door as the orderly gave a startled sound, pushing away at the same time. At that very moment, Ace realized that it was early morning – sunlight lit everything around him, gave his room warmth. His ears were ringing, as if he'd listened to continuous screaming, and was suddenly released.

"You okay, buddy?" the orderly asked, peering in on him again. "You okay?"

"… _'Sop_? Ussop? _Where's Ussop_?" Ace asked, utterly confused by his surroundings. It felt as if he'd blinked, and suddenly was transported through time. Too much time had passed since he'd heard that horrendous sound, and now, nothing made sense. _Absolutely nothing_. Was he only dreaming?

"How long were you up?"

"Most…most night. Most…where's Ussop?"

"Sir, this one's awake," the orderly said, looking away from the door. And then Ace was aware of voices from down the hall, a collection of upset and urgent voices that told him Sengoku had been found, and the medical ward was being cordoned off. A woman was crying hysterically, demanding to be released from her job. He didn't think it was Dr Hina. There was too much distress in that voice.

A few moments later, another face peered in at him.

"What's his name?"

"This is Portgas D. Ace, sir."

"The pyromaniac."

"Uh…yes."

"Lock it up until we have the scene cleared. I don't want any of these men spoken to by anyone else until I have absolute control of the situation."

"Yes, Dr Akainu."


	7. Chapter 7

Alasse-m: little by little, Sanji's part is being revealed. ;) Don't believe anything Law says -he's a known liar.

DedicatedFan: It could be a combo of both, but who is causing it? Haha the tension deepens with this chapter!

: 7 :

Luffy shuffled in place, growing agitated. He didn't understand why Ace was yelling so passionately from his room, forcibly restrained while a couple of male nurses hurried by with sedatives. The presence of policemen and a body clean-up crew did nothing to soothe their current anxiety. The patients had been roused by Ace's shouts and gathered together in the break-room while their newest head psychiatrist went over their files in front of them. Dr Hina was quiet and her eyes looked listless. The orderlies at attention were rigid and silent, and every time one of the detectives came in to ask a question, Dr Akainu would cite a 'no comment' remark for the patients standing there. He had then demanded an answer as to why 'freakshow' mutants were relied upon for any sort of coherent information when they were all clearly mental patients that couldn't even take care of themselves. The head detective had fumbled for an answer, and couldn't get one out, facing against the much taller man. He'd looked at the row of men with frustration and left Dr Akainu to his own devices.

Ace was screaming out unintelligibly, now, fighting the sedatives, and his words brought on a world of confusion to those remaining.

"Where's Ussop?" Luffy whispered, looking for his friend with wide eyes. "Is he sleeping in?"

"He was released last night," Zoro answered gently. "He was allowed to go home."

"Wow, that's nice! Good job, Dr Hina!" Luffy said brightly, struggling to be happy for Ussop. "He got to go home!"

Dr Hina shook her head, moving to correct him when Dr Akainu cut in with, "Cut the horseshit. Patient 04 was murdered and left behind in the medical ward with grievous neck and skull injuries. He was not in any way or form 'released'. I'll not have you lie to these men, Dr Hina, and _you_. Roronoa. If you've got nothing truthful to say, shut it."

All of them looked startled at being addressed so directly, without an ounce of compassion. Zoro looked confused, unsure of what he'd done wrong, brow furrowing as he looked at the floor. Luffy stared at Dr Akainu with a stark expression of horror, Dr Hina's face screwing up with slight distress at the sight of it. But she also watched as Sanji struggled to fight off a reactive face, as Law looked bored, and Penguin was staring off to the side, his features blank. After Ace's accusations that it had been Law and Sanji wandering the hallways last night, detailing what staff had only been able to find upon examination, both of them looked bothered. Law had the bewildered shrug down, and Sanji just looked confused, unable to understand why his name was being dragged into the fury. Both of them had looked at each other with doubt, unable to understand why anyone would lump them together.

Dr Akainu set down the last file and stood up, giving all of them a hard onceover. They were all standing abreast of one another, Luffy bent slightly under the weight of his night vest, so they all looked up at him with drawing doubt. Dr Hina watched the older man cautiously as he looked at Zoro, the man looking up at him with a puzzled expression.

"Out of all of you here, you were here first, making you the longest surviving resident here. You're a schizophrenic found wandering townsquare; you don't have any clue where you come from, or how you got here. Your incoherent drabbling has done nothing to provide previous staff with any sort of direction to take you. Therefore, if Dr Smoker hadn't figured anything out for your future case plan, you have a mild skull drill to your left frontal lobe coming to you. That should lessen the tension in your mind, relax you a bit to release more information. If you can't give us anything else, then I'll proceed with a full drilling to lessen the tension on the other lobe. If that gives me nothing, I'll release you back into town, where you can drain your own resources on the streets, or until the herd takes you down themselves. Whichever is first. The fact that this mansion can only provide so much care for so many people tells me that if nothing is working, then we must move on," Dr Akainu said grimly, Dr Hina wincing as Zoro squinted at him, struggling to understand what he was saying. Sanji looked over with a horrified expression, Luffy's face twisting with doubt.

Dr Akainu moved onto Luffy, looking down at him with a frown. "Your hyperactivity and constant self-damaging actions are costing the medical ward far more in expenses to keep you repaired, Monkey D. Luffy. You have proven to Smoker that you can be coaxed into a direction of action, but the experimental dosages that we've been giving you have done nothing to slow you down. Either they're not working, or you're not taking them correctly. Because I have an interest in this disorder, I will continue feeding you with these drugs until you show sign of improvement. You either learn to function as a normal human being, or you overdose on a heavy swallow of improperly mixed pills. You have family that does not give a damn what we do to you, here. You were abandoned. No one can seem to handle your hyperactivity any more than staff can, here. This weighted vest theory does not seem to be working – your physical frame tells me that you've only adapted to it – not a good sign. You will not have to wear it, anymore. But you will be dosed after breakfast on the first round of medication that I had been using on patients with stories similar to yours. You cannot give consent – you belong to me, now. Is this understood?"

"I don't like pills," Luffy mumbled. "I don't like feeling sleepy all the time. I don't want them. I'll just give them to Sanji."

"That won't happen. _You_ will take them, and I'll personally make sure of it. If they don't get swallowed via mouth, you will take them up the ass. This has been a proven favorable treatment for faster results. You want something up your ass? Then continue to defy me."

"I don't want _anything_ up my ass, sir."

Dr Akainu then walked onto Sanji, who was attempting to make eye contact with him, but he was too nervous to do so. So he focused on the collar of his shirt, instead, and Dr Akainu stared down at him with judgment. "Your file details visits in and out of jail, an unwillingness to cooperate with your father, who signed you over with the thought that Smoker's practice in coaxing you to eat again would somehow 'cure' you. It hasn't worked, has it? You weigh less than Luffy does, and somehow, _you're_ in charge of the menu? This is unacceptable. You were addicted to barbiturates, and Monkey here just confessed that he's been giving you his pills, instead. That sort of thing won't fly with me. If your family truly cared about you, they wouldn't give a shit if you don't eat. The fact that you try so hard to gain male favor has me thinking that you're not doing it for the thought of perfectionism or attaining 'approval'. If you think you can win his favor by representing yourself as a full-on lady boy – "

" _Fuck you_."

"What did you say to me? That mouth can get verbal, but it won't accept food? You willingly starve yourself for attention, Vinsmoke, and the only attention you bring is more humiliation to your family and yourself. Take that jacket off. Remove those shoes. You're a part of this group, you might as well as look like it. Take it off him," Dr Akainu said with disgust, gesturing at the nearby orderlies. As they moved to follow his command, Sanji struggled to hide his overwhelmed emotions, shattering easily under the verbal attack.

Dr Akainu looked at Law, who looked smugly back at him. "And _you_. You piece of trash. Your file's bible thick, and there's no point to treatment with you. Once a psychopath, always a psychopath. There _is_ no curing you. Your hands are clean, you've told Smoker, but men like you have more than one pair of hands on you. You come from a rich family that funds this place, that's why you were kept here. You might not have God on your side, but you were useful for one thing. Tomorrow morning, I've ordered a skull drill for you. I'm putting it off today because I want a few more notes on you. Perhaps if I can find a way to identify personalities like yours, we might have a faster advantage to taking you creeps off the street."

"This is not a good idea," Law told him, Dr Hina frowning at him as she realized just how easily he was speaking with the wrap holding his jaw in place. "It's probably best for you right now to get rid of me. If not, there will come a moment where I will have your guts spilled in front of you, and you'll regret every moment you let me breathe."

"I somehow doubt it," Dr Akainu told him, unbothered by the threat. "Men already labeled with an illness are nothing but pigs to me. You're all just science experiments. There are more of you out there that will take your place. While I've made it my mission to attempt to understand and end most illnesses, I could care less for the mind that went missing in the process. Once I've lessened the pressure on your frontal lobes, I will release you back to your family in one piece, where you can live the rest of your life out as a vegetable. So I hope those warm and cozy memories of killing and dismemberment stay with you. You can relieve them, sitting in your diaper close to the fire, hearing my words echoing right back onto you."

"And _you_ ," Dr Akainu continued, looking at Penguin. "Your file gives me nothing. No background, no case plan, no reach. Therefore, you _are_ nothing. You are a waste of my time and resources. Place this man in his room. Don't bother him with meals. If he's truly gone, he'll waste away on his own, and we can use the funding allotted to him to start repairs to the sanatorium. For now, I'll need attention on Monkey and Roronoa, here. Vinsmoke, you're excused. I'll notify your family to come retrieve you. I'll spend no more time on your supposed 'illness'. If you don't want to go home, kill yourself while the crew is still here, so they can remove your useless body from the grounds. You've all got your orders, let's move."

Dr Hina fiddled with her hands as she watched him go. Luffy looked enraged while Sanji strode out of the room, hand to his face. Law shrugged and retreated to one of the chairs while Penguin was led away. Zoro looked confused, mumbling to himself as he struggled to understand what Dr Akainu had just ordered. Swallowing tightly, she said stiffly, "I'm sorry. _I'm so sorry_. I knew – I knew what he's like, I just never thought he was capable of being so…"

"He spoke the truth," Law told her, sitting carefully. "He said everything everyone only thought of."

"Most of you are still human! _Most_!" she hissed. "These guys don't deserve to be spoken to in that manner! Every one of you, _almost_ , are human beings! Not science experiments, or failures! All of you were granted life by God, and to have it taken away because you are different – under _his_ terms? It's not right. Telling Vinsmoke to kill himself because he's a waste has most likely undone everything Smoker had tried to rebuild in him! Giving the order to allow Penguin to _waste away_? That is not a humane thing to do!"

"In the end, _I'm_ going to have my head drilled – doesn't that make you happy? Plus, he's guaranteed care for the little ones, over there. And he's right about Penguin. If he can't pull anything from the man, how is he expected to help him? As for Vinsmoke-ya – he wants attention, but he's going about it in such a way that no one will give it to him. I wish Ace-ya were here, so I could hear what Akainu-ya has to say about him."

After the loud accusations he was throwing this morning, Dr Hina was sure Ace would be sedated for most of the day. He'd heard – _witnessed_ – Ussop murdered. Supposedly at Law's hands. But that was impossible – when Law was investigated, he was still handcuffed to the bed, waking up disoriented to the sudden attention and activity around him. Ussop had been found in the medical ward on Law's wheelchair, neck broken in a few places, jaw set aside. He looked as if he'd seen something so terrible, his expression carried the sight long after death. Sengoku was found in the hall, missing his head. _Still_ missing it, from the looks of the crew moving around the sanatorium. His blood stained the floor, and the journal he had been reading was missing several pages. Those were found atop of Smoker's desk, where Dr Akainu had tossed them away, much to the investigator's horror.

She looked at Law once more. The man did not look bothered by Dr Akainu – only amused by the challenge. She saw one of the orderlies removing Luffy's vest from him, another coaxing Zoro to stand near the window, his usual spot. Luffy made a beeline towards Sanji's room, calling his name impatiently. Dr Hina felt her eyes water a little – but she could not show Dr Akainu this emotion. She had to restrain herself and trust in his judgment. After all, there was a reason why he held such a tough position for so long.

Maybe he could stop the killer – or _killers_ – that haunted this sanatorium.

Amidst the sound of men maneuvering the bodies towards the stairway, she thought she heard a boy call out with surprise. More interesting was Law leaving the chair suddenly, wandering off in the direction it had come from. Her skin rippled with awareness as she watched him leave. She didn't trust him, but she could trust him not to act out at this moment.

: :

The day progressed with more difficulties. Dr Akainu had Zoro strapped to a table in the medical ward, to administer some medication that had worked previously on people like him. He claimed it restored some clarity to their thoughts, and allowed them to hold a coherent conversation. Because the medical ward still smelled like death, the faint buzz of flies audible, Zoro shouted and raged within the straps. Dr Akainu left him there while he dealt with staffing matters.

Night shift was approaching, and most of the workers quit right after hearing of the deaths. The police force had found the bodies of their fellow colleagues in the elevator with the word ' _Rapists'_ carved into their faces, so most of them were feeling animosity towards Law, refusing to find reason to spend another night in the mansion for 'some crazies'. The police captain was arguing with Dr Akainu on allowing his men to stay another night – Dr Akainu was getting closer and closer to agreeing to allow the patients to stay on their own. Whoever survived, he'd work with. Dr Hina volunteered to stay, but he refused to let her. He had her escorted home, a policeman stationed outside so that she wouldn't return after hours.

From the dinner table, Luffy listened to the activity. Zoro was still strapped to the table in the medical ward, so hearing him plead for help caused him much distress. Sanji hadn't left his room. Law was wandering around freely, looking smug. Penguin stood at the end of the hall, staring at nothing; essentially ignored by staff on Dr Akainu's orders. Luffy couldn't eat with his stomach in knots. But his mind was moving too fast for him to settle on a decision. The pills Dr Akainu had given him felt as if they had given him an entirely opposite effect – everything was moving too fast, he was too hot, and even if he willed his limbs to work properly, they weren't moving fast enough to keep up. Every movement he made was jerky and uncoordinated, and he fumbled with eating. All he wanted to do was beat someone up. Maybe with some effort, he could help everyone escape. Maybe they would last a little longer outside of these walls than inside.

He felt intensely sorry for Ussop. Ace had said that he'd screamed, shouted, made a racket – but Luffy heard _nothing_. Ace himself was still locked in his room, sedated hard enough to sleep through meal times, through Zoro shouting, through the sounds of police activity.

Luffy peeled pieces of pork from the bone, wrapping slivers of meat around carefully cut pieces of vegetables. It took him several tries to accomplish this, his fingers were so jittery. Once he had five of them, he dumped and wrapped them into a napkin, then abandoned his chair, heading for Sanji's room. He stumbled all the way there, having a hard time keeping himself aloft. He either wasn't used to the lack of the weight vest, or just _moving too fast_ for even himself to keep up, with. He gave Penguin a sad expression as the man stood there, receiving no guidance from staff to do anything. Strolling into Sanji's room, Luffy found him curled up in bed, staring into space. His eyes were red and swollen, and he seemed to be wearing a defeated expression.

" _Here_ ," Luffy said, falling down to sit next to him, unwrapping the contents of his napkin. Sanji roused himself up to a seated position and stared at the mixture. He turned away with a shake of his head, and Luffy looked at him with worry. " _Eat_. Prove him wrong. That goddamn bastard said some really mean, terrible things, but they weren't the right things."

"No, he's right," Sanji said low. " _He's right_. Hearing it come from another person was just…something I needed to hear."

"Means nothing. _He_ means nothing! He doesn't know you! You try really hard to be someone that means somebody, and - !"

"That's the thing, _idiot_. A person shouldn't have to try hard to be meaningful to anyone. A person should be accepted 'as is'. All these years I wanted my fucking family's approval. But here I am, wasting someone else's funds and time all the same…"

"Eat this. _Please_. Just eat it. You'll feel better," Luffy insisted, thrusting the napkin at him. "Just a bite. You're just tired and upset. We're all sad over things that happened, today. Not having anything in your tummy might be making you think different things you normally wouldn't. So… _eat_."

Sanji stared at the pieces for a few moments, then reached over and took a vegetable. With some effort, he placed that between teeth and cheek, then looked out his door. He nodded in that direction. "Go feed him. He needs care. He can't be ignored like that."

"Right."

Luffy quickly left the bed and went to Penguin, prompting him to eat from his hand. The man did so upon contact, looking sightlessly over Luffy's head. Luffy waited until the food was gone, then quickly returned to the dinner table. He grabbed his plate and ran back to them, prompting him to eat again. By this time both of them cleaned the plate, the orderlies were advancing on him. He went with them, their reluctant expressions showing exactly what they thought of their new orders, and while they weren't gentle, they were understanding. They let him wander off while they checked in on Sanji, then on Ace. Dr Akainu called for Luffy's presence in the medical ward, and Luffy went to him reluctantly.

Law watched him leave, the orderlies guiding the boy in that direction. The kitchen workers cleared the dining room table, giving him nervous looks as they did so. He didn't care to eat, either, but it wasn't because he was upset – he didn't trust Dr Akainu. He figured the man would tamper with their food. He wasn't ready for that sort of destruction, just yet. He still had things to do.

He rose up from the chair, noting the time. Night had fallen, so candles were lit. The police department had left a while ago – Dr Akainu would leave after he was finished with Luffy and Zoro for the night. Dr Hina's absence was surprisingly apparent – he didn't think he'd actually miss the woman, but only because he knew she slipped out of his fingers. It was too bad, really.

He wandered down the hall, looking at Penguin with an expression of mirth. He tapped on the floor near the man's slipper-covered feet, and watched him shift with clumsy movement – needing physical action to make a physical move. So Law directed him towards his room, and watched him waddle away. Then he turned and wandered into Sanji's room.

"You're still alive?" he asked, disappointed as he walked up to the side of the bed. "He's giving you permission to kill yourself, and you're _still_ here. Why are you not taking advantage of this opportunity?"

Sanji glared at him, uncovering his face only slightly so he could. "Fuck off, turd jumper."

"Did you manage to eat the slop Luffy brought you? He licked it all, I hope you know. That might be extra calories. Will you be running, tonight? I often wonder what you picture as you run in place – are you running _to_ home? Or away?"

" _Fuck off_ , cunt-head."

"But before I do, what should I do with these?" Law asked curiously, drawing Sanji's attention to his fingers. He opened them to reveal the white pills Sanji had been looking for, and Sanji sat up, immediately interested. "I get a favor in return, you know. These aren't for free."

Sanji looked at him warily. " _What_."

"Kitchen keys."

"There's nothing for you in the kitchen."

"I plan on stretching my legs, tonight."

Sanji studied him for a few moments, then said pensively, "As long as you're looking over the roasted chicken, like I'd asked you to the last time."

Law frowned at him haughtily. "Food is not my area of expertise."

Sanji frowned at him peevishly. "Then I'm sure Akainu would love to have these back."

" _Two_ pills, and you give me the keys. _Plus_ ," Law lifted his other hand, showing him a couple of beige, oblong pills that caused Sanji to frown with concentration, "Zoro's mid-afternoon treat. He spit them out when I told him I had seen flies walking around them. He didn't have enough time to get them wet."

Sanji gave him a skeptical expression. "Akainu gave you too much freedom to wander."

"He's testing me. But he's already sentenced himself, so I'm not worried about what he thinks."

Sanji considered the offer. He felt so low that nothing looked positive for him. But those pills, added to his current collection, would help so much. He swallowed tightly. "What's the extra cost?"

"A map of the First Floor."

"You've been down there enough to know what it looks like."

"Not _this_ side."

Sanji considered his options, then nodded. "Fine. Give me twenty minutes."

Law slipped the pills into his pocket, lips pulling into a frown. "You're not even going to ask _what_ I'm going to do with those things? Most normal people would refuse, knowing I'm a psychopath and most likely plotting everyone's deaths with your assistance."

"I don't care what you do. I really don't," Sanji snapped at him, turning away to look at the collection of things he had sitting nearby. "Just clean those knives properly after you're done. I can't hide that if I can't access the kitchen, anymore. Or was it your plan all along to blame me for your shit?"

"You're such a whiner, Vinsmoke-ya. _Ugh_ , these hands weren't made for menial labor," Law complained dramatically before leaving his room, Sanji frowning at the shadows that shifted restlessly ahead of him. He watched them unfurl from the floor, like light wisps of smoke before resettling. The air felt hot and stale again, a faint buzzing noise appearing from everywhere and nowhere at once. It made the hairs on his arms rise straight up, as if something invisible were touching them.

He understood what he was doing; he made no excuses for it.

"Why did you give him that information?" he heard from behind him, the voice incredulous. He hadn't heard that voice in a long while. It made him wonder what finally prompted the man to speak out. If it were Akainu's presence that prompted it, or Law's bold activity. "Hasn't it occurred to you that you're just as guilty as he is?"

" _I don't care_ ," Sanji replied stubbornly.

"When will you start?"

"Probably _never_."

"You're just as bad a man as he is," he was accused by a boy, Sanji feeling his lips tighten up as his shoulders tensed. "There's a certain place for people like that, and you're going to it."

" _I'm already in it_!" he shouted impatiently, whirling around to look back. "I'm _already_ there! What the fuck do I care what happens in here?"

"There's no need to yell out so randomly, Vinsmoke-ya," he heard Law chide from the hallway. "Everyone knows you're crazy already."

Sanji picked up his pillow and threw it out from his room with a curse, then stood up and kicked his bed, the metal screeching heavily over the floor. An orderly quickly came in and looked at him, frowning at the state he was in. It took a few moments to rein in the tears that threatened to spill again, breathing heavily to draw in his rising frustration, but Sanji clenched his fists at his side and calmed himself as best as he could before sitting back down on his bed, looking off at nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

Dedicated Fan: Sanji's role is…just a smidge less important than one thinks. : ) Just a smidge.

Saharame: Ah! Welcome! After the events in the recent OP chapter, I had made a promise that nothing *bad will happen to him in this fic. Haha! That's an easy situation for me to admit. But as for the others and his involvement in it all, well…

MinnyFox: Read on for more answers! They'll be extra clear, soon! (in response to your gif, calm down, Sheldon, before someone takes your spot XD)

: 8 :

Dr Akainu noticed that the group was calmer this time around, and he observed over them with a frown. It annoyed him that this sanatorium was located so far from town to have the accessibility of quick reach conveniences. The police department had gotten fed up with his stand-offish behavior and left him to his own devices. He was prepared to spend the night on the First Floor, and had asked that only one orderly remain. That orderly was standing nervously in the corner of the break room, apprehension clear on his face.

Luffy's medication had finally kicked in, leaving him very quiet, very still; he faced the only window nearest him, sitting at an angle that had his head tilted hard to the side. He blinked hazily, as if the sun were in his eyes, his hands resting primly atop of his knees. Zoro was sitting up against the wall, hands flat at his hips, staring with a confused expression ahead of him. He hadn't said a thing in the past hour, which caused his roommates to look at him anxiously.

Law was seated in one of the chairs, drawing on a piece of paper, occasionally commenting out to Penguin, who stood near the doorway. While his pleasant mood was suspicious, Dr Akainu wasn't going to give him the attention. He ventured towards Ace's room, and noted that the man was groggily examining the ceiling of his room. He was set to receive another sedative, soon, just to get him through this night without agitating the others. Dr Akainu would give him another fifteen minutes before introducing himself properly. He walked to Sanji's room and stepped into the doorway, seeing that the man was dressed in what fine clothes he had, a pile of things stacked neatly at the foot of his bed.

He scoffed.

" _That_ eager to get home, right? I just sent out the message a few hours, ago. They're not expected to respond right away. More than likely, he'll either respond via messenger, or be here to pick you up in the dead of night tomorrow evening."

"There's no point keeping him waiting if he _does_ arrive," Sanji muttered bitterly.

"I understand he causes great anxiety in you. Years of trying to please him must be the reasoning behind your rather sensitive nature. You tend to show emotion if criticized in any way."

"You're wasting oxygen making small conversation with me," Sanji warned him.

"I have nothing else to do." Dr Akainu looked around his room with cursory action, then turned to walk back down the hall.

" _Bonehead_ ," he heard a boy mutter. It was a distinctive voice, very clear, and very close. He turned around to look back at the other man, Sanji looking at him warily once he realized Dr Akainu had paused in mid-movement.

"What did you say to me?" Dr Akainu asked sharply.

With a frown, Sanji repeated, "You're wasting – "

"Not that. _Just now_. Care to repeat that comment?"

" _I didn't say anything_."

"I _distinctively_ heard you call me a name while my back was to you."

"I said nothing!"

"If only you put this much effort into actually behaving as a boy, maybe your father would've been more accepting of this behavior," Dr Akainu muttered, turning away.

"And maybe if you brushed your teeth, you wouldn't smell so bad," the boy called after him, causing him to jerk around and look back at Sanji. Sanji rose from his bed, turning red in the face as he grew tense in response to the expression the man was giving him. Dr Akainu made to snap when the boy said clearly, " _Bonehead_."

Pausing in place, Dr Akainu stared at Sanji for a few moments, making the man extremely nervous in that moment. The man was _positive_ the other had not spoken.

"Jerk off," the boy whispered before running off down the hall, Dr Akainu jerking around to look after the noise. Incredulous, he moved in that direction, sure it was one of the patients messing with him. But once he reached the break room, everyone was where he'd left them. Penguin was standing near the doorway, staring at nothing when Dr Akainu pushed him aside and looked for Law, for Luffy.

Law looked at him with a curious expression from his chair, where he sat with his legs crossed, and Luffy was still staring off at the window with visible disorientation.

"Lose something, doctor? I understand that one's mind might wander a bit in these halls," Law asked, lifting a crayon from the paper. He turned it around to show off his work, Dr Akainu taking a few moments to glare at him before focusing on the paper. He realized that the man had drawn a map of sorts, and was inserting figures in various locations throughout the rendering. "Do you need this to help you find it?"

"What is that?" Dr Akainu asked sharply, moving towards him. He snatched it up and realized that the map of the First Floor included killing grounds for him and the other patients after Law had slaughtered them. Akainu's name was marked right in the kitchen building, the structure separate away from the mansion. Flames created by crayon were drawn around the building. " _What is this_?"

"Oh, don't pay it any serious attention, Akainu-ya," Law said lightly, chewing the end of the crayon with indifference. "I'm in the crazy house for a reason. I'm spending my last coherent moments plotting for a future I probably won't see."

Dr Akainu crushed and wadded the paper up and threw it away from him. Zoro caught sight of the moment and followed it very slowly until spying the mess, sleepily reflecting on it before slowly turning to look at them. "Which one of you can throw your voice around?"

"Are you hearing things?" Law asked, eyebrows lifting. "Because that's how all of this craziness starts."

Dr Akainu moved to answer when he was aware of a heavy moving sound. The orderly began moving to the door, so he followed after him. Both of them watched as Sanji pulled his door shut, much to the alarm of the orderly that called out for him to stop, a puzzled expression on his face. Dr Akainu understood that the doors worked only by a key that allowed the door to open or close. The orderly investigated the lock at the bottom, then gave him a confused look, indicating his own set of keys at his belt. Dr Akainu looked in through the mesh wiring of the window, snapping, "Where did you get your keys?"

"Fuck off!" Sanji retorted, pushing away from the door, sweeping his hair from his face with nervous action. His voice trembled noticeably, but because Dr Akainu couldn't see him as he stepped out of sight, he couldn't tell what sort of emotion was playing over Sanji's expression. "All I'm doing is locking myself in, and going to bed. Leave me alone."

" _Where did you get your keys_?"

Both he and the orderly jerked in place as a loud scream rang out in the halls, a man being attacked causing alarm in both of them. Without another look back, Dr Akainu pushed towards the break room, where the screams grew in volume. It sounded as if a man were being torn to pieces, and he expected to see the worst. As he reached the doorway to the break room, he felt movement behind him. He looked over his shoulder in time to see the orderly run for the staircase, ignoring Akainu's startled shout. The orderly fumbled with his keys as Dr Akainu began moving after him, but that man's shrill scream grew in volume.

Dr Akainu winced under the power of it – it was as if it were occurring right next to him. He looked away from the escaping orderly and looked into the break room, bursting in to provide assistance. But all he received were two sets of curious eyes in his direction. Law was still sitting in the chair, drawing on another sheet of paper, and Zoro began to focus in Dr Akainu's direction with a hard squint. Luffy turned his head clumsily to look back at them, and Penguin was standing there near the bookshelf, facing the empty shelves. None of the men were in distress. None of them looked as if they'd heard anything out of the ordinary. For a moment, Dr Akainu had no idea what to say, or think. That man's shrill screams were echoing through his thoughts. He remained stationary until he was sure he could control his own movement.

Dr Akainu then took the steps necessary to Ace's room, and looked in through the window. The man was still groggy, but he was sitting up, clutching the edge of his bed frame with both hands. He looked at Dr Akainu with a nauseous expression, giving no indication that he'd heard the same sounds. He was supposed to receive his next sedative, Dr Akainu remembered, but it'd have to wait until he could figure out this mystery.

Extremely puzzled, Dr Akainu pushed away from the door. He turned to address Sanji again when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Law smirking at him as he pushed through the door of the stairway, disappearing in moments.

"Hey! _Hey_!" Dr Akainu shouted, striding towards the stairway. Without staff to provide assistance, leaving the three in the break room was all he could do. The other two were locked up – but one had a set of keys. Not that Sanji could use them to get out, now that he was locked _in_ – but Dr Akainu paid him no more mind; as far as he was concerned, Sanji was just as useless as the others, were.

The stairway was dark, but once Law pushed the door open at the bottom, it was lit briefly by the candlelight lit downstairs. He even waited for a few seconds to look back up at him with a slight smirk. Dr Akainu took the steps fast as Law shut the door behind him. Bursting out onto the First Floor, Dr Akainu looked around himself. There were candles lit in different sconces throughout the walls, tables, and a slight sound of water dripping from the medical ward nearby. After day staff abandoned the job for the day, it had remained untouched since then.

He looked at the front door, and saw that it was shut and locked tight. All doors on the First Floor required a key, and Akainu struggled with the key ring Dr Hina had given him. With a cruse of frustration as he searched for the First Floor set of keys, Dr Akainu turned towards the right to face the visiting room and offices. He caught sight of movement ahead of him, sure that it was Law escaping him. Clearly, the man was drawing him away from safety to kill him. Without backup, he supposed he could be an easy victim – but then again, Dr Akainu didn't get this far in life _being_ a victim.

" _Jerk_ ," he heard the boy's voice call out from behind him. Dr Akainu turned to look for the child, and caught sight of the orderly running towards the front door, emerging from the nearby front office to do so.

" _Hey_!" he shouted, moving in that direction. As he merged back up into the main foyer, he paused in mid-step, eyes widening. The man was lying in pieces against the front door. Dr Akainu didn't understand. He had just seen him moving – _just watched him run_ – mere moments before. He didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. _He did not understand_. Around his space of thought, a low buzzing began to build around him. Hot air started to bubble around his form, making his skin flush. He wasn't sure if it were just shock caused by the picture, or something else – building panic, a terrible realization, a feeling of horror. Whatever it was, he was rooted in place, hardly blinking. He felt sick at the strong scent of blood that built within the heaviness of the hot air around him, his stomach knotting up.

"Your personality isn't very pleasant," a man called out calmly. His voice was unfamiliar to Dr Akainu, and he turned away from the gore to face the main hall. That voice seemed to carry out from the shadows beyond the light of sconces around him, as if that, itself, were speaking to him. He was sure that only he and the orderly were the ones left in the sanatorium besides the patients. "Everyone here can't help what they are. We're not pigs for experimentation. We're damaged human beings, and most are in need of help and understanding. We want fucking _compassion_ , here. Not your contempt and declaration as being 'worthless'. "

"Meat sacks!" someone else called out, chuckling low with amusement. "That's what we are to him. _Meat sacks_!"

All at once, several different voices drew together in incomprehensible whispers, and Dr Akainu tensed, unsure of the source of that noise – the man that had just spoken had a deeper cackle to it, an underlying accent that didn't belong to the island. For a moment, he wondered if people had broken into the sanatorium. He couldn't imagine who would – unless Law had accomplices that he communicated regularly. Unless staff was secretly working with him, influenced by his family's power and money.

" _Law_ ," Dr Akainu stated firmly, marching in the direction he'd seen the man take earlier. "This game of yours ends tonight. I will administer the drilling myself. It's apparent that I made a mistake, this morning."

"Whatever triggered this violence is something I don't quite understand, just yet. _Something_ triggered him very recently, and whatever it was caused this maelstrom to happen. I'm aware that it's personal, but I don't know for myself why he suddenly chose to strike out, now. Sometimes, I can't hear them very well," the first man said, and Dr Akainu felt frustrated. He could not pinpoint the location of the voice, nor understand entirely what was being said. It seemed to come from the shadows of the main hall – which would take him to the back door, out to the separate buildings outside, but there were the visiting rooms and the offices to his right. He'd _seen_ Law go that route. It would make sense to follow him there.

"Some of it was just pointless killing, but…it's not just him doing it. It's not _all_ him. There's someone else behind it. Open your eyes and look for it before you fall, too. Sengoku was _that_ close to understanding it."

Dr Akainu paused in mid step, considering those desperate words. They didn't make much sense to him, but something triggered a sense of pause in his own thoughts. "What's your name, son?"

There were a few moments of silence as that demand was considered. When the man spoke again, it was tentative. Maybe it belonged to a young adult, or a burgeoning teenager, just getting used to his new voice. "…Will I get in trouble if I reveal myself?"

"No. No, not at all," Dr Akainu said, frowning hard as he looked around.

"I don't believe you," Law said smoothly, stepping out from the visiting room to Dr Akainu's right. While it bothered him that there was another man in the house with them, Dr Akainu _had_ to focus on this one. This one was the dangerous one. "You look like the type of guy that would settle his differences with fists, no matter _who_ was in front of you."

"No one cares about my methods, as long as they work," Dr Akainu said, marching towards him. "And my methods _have_ worked."

"I'm sure they have," Law said, stepping backward. With the set of keys taken from the orderly's grasp, he reached out and casually opened the side door. Dr Akainu broke into a run to rush him, and just narrowly missed him as Law emerged out into the night, giggling lightly as he hastened his step. He shut the door behind him, hearing the lock automatically catch as he closed it. It gave him the few seconds needed for Dr Akainu to find the right key to open the door, rushing down the steps after him. Law made his way towards the separate kitchen building, digging into his pockets for the set of keys Sanji had given him. He picked out the largest one, made it to the front door, and unlocked it. He shut and locked it behind him, hearing Dr Akainu yell out with a curse as he struggled to find the right key on his ring. He lit a single candle near the doorway, which gave him just enough light to see things around him.

Law saw that while the kitchen was separate from the mansion, it was created with a full stove and oven, with one wall dedicated to dishware, a long sink with meticulously cleaned counters, and a ceiling to floor cabinet that required a key to open. He found that key in between the front door key, and the closet key. The closet itself was a combination pantry and storage space, which had extra tables and chairs for the mansion. There was also a small cellar space to store frozen food. The windows were wide and cheery with bright curtains, overlooking the wide open spaces of the backyard and gardens. Law could see why Sanji loved to escape here. It wasn't built with industrial, impersonal equipment – it could make one forget that it provided services to the crazy occupants housed in the mansion next door.

He found himself looking for the roasted chicken Sanji had mentioned. Only something in his mind twinged, pulling back at him as he did so. There was nothing on the stove or in the oven to indicate that there was such a dish available, but there was something deep inside of him that wanted to remind him of something.

' _That's the code, okay_?' he heard a boy say, but he couldn't figure out who that kid was, looking at him from a stranger's memory. ' _That's when_ you _have to come back_.'

"What the fuck," he said aloud, confused as to why he would even have that foreign memory.

Law heard Dr Akainu struggle to find the right key to the door, so he ventured away from it. He went right for the knives located atop of the counter, and took his time to select the ones that had served him best so far. He then walked around the island located within the center of the building, and headed towards the cabinet below the sink. He found the chemicals that looked the most interesting, and then set them down atop of the counter.

After a brief glance around, he said, "I apologize, Vinsmoke-ya."

"Why are you apologizing to him?" the boy asked impatiently, voice ringing out over the stillness of the kitchen.

"Well, I'm going to destroy the place he likes most."

"You said you're going to _gut_ the man, not burn him down. That's _boring_."

"I'm going to do both."

"You can't do both," the boy scoffed.

" _Watch_. We'll make a bet. I win, you have to apologize to me. You win…well…that's for you to decide," Law said, spilling the contents of one container over the floor nearest the door. He looked at the handwriting written over the plastic, and curled his lip at the sight of cursive.

"That sounds fair!"

"I don't think you should do this," another voice said slowly, Law pausing in mid movement to glare across the room.

"You, again? If you have nothing nice to say, keep it to yourself!" he snapped.

"You're putting this sick chaos into an innocent person's hands, and allowing them to take the blame of your own madness. Look, I'm sure you're inwardly tired of taking the blame. _I'm_ tired of feeling all the repercussions. This takes us furthest from God's hands. You killed Sengoku, Rosinante will _never_ forgive you for that. To torture him with the things that he'd felt guilt with wasn't right."

Gritting his teeth, Law said, "We're taking our combined frustrations out on people that have contributed to our mood. If you're only going to contribute with your negative outlook on my actions, then kindly _step out_. As for Rosinante, I remember him signing away my rights as a human being. He could give a fuck about me – therefore, I could give a fuck about him. If he loved his daddy so much, then maybe he shouldn't have allowed me here, knowing what I'm capable of."

"His death should have never fallen into _your_ hands!"

"He was over my bed! What was I supposed to think? Especially after that one night? You think I enjoyed waking up, being violated?"

" _Sengoku wasn't a part of that_! He was ashamed of what happened!"

"Admittedly, _that_ might've been more my fault. I found advantage to escape my confinings, and I used it. You know how I feel being trapped behind bars. And, you don't have the wrong idea," a woman murmured from nearby. From the corner of his eye, Law could see her leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her ample chest. "This place is a disastrous black hole for hopelessness. This man wasn't the brightest by agitating the lot of you. Even if _you_ didn't do it, I suspect that others would've done it eventually."

"Thank you, Robin."

"Don't encourage him."

"Let's kill all the meat sacks! Ha ha!"

"Play the game right!"

"But I don't like what's been done to us thus far," she continued. "My body still hurts. I don't like knowing what happened to us, and having them allowed to get away with it because of who we are. I don't think I can take another night of being woken so suddenly because of your actions."

"This isn't entirely me making the choice for us," Law said after a few moments. "You know that. But I find no objection to it."

"Can I do the match? _Can I do the match_? Can I? _Can I_?" the boy cried excitedly as Law tossed the empty container aside. He heard Akainu find the right key, shoving it into the lock with a frustrated curse.

"You may," Law answered lightly. "They're right over there, on the shelf above the stove."

" _I can't reach it_! I'm too short, dummy!"

"You're intending on causing suffering to a person that was intending on causing you all to suffer. Are you not the same as him? God will find fit to exact retribution on our behalf if we just let it go from our own hands!"

"We're in too deep! We're in too deep, there's too much blood on our hands!"

"Oh, I'm aware of our similarities," Law said, turning to watch Dr Akainu walk in, smelling the spilled chemicals with a disturbed expression. "But I'm the worse one here. _Welcome_. You made it."

"Who is in here with you?" Dr Akainu demanded, looking around the kitchen and seeing only him. He watched Law put the knives down on the counter, abandoning them to walk around the kitchen island to reach for a box on the shelf. Once Dr Akainu realized that it was matches, he hesitated to fully enter. But he watched with rising tension as the box then moved on its own, opening with eager action and spilling sticks in every direction.

Law looked down with an admonishing expression as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning hip first against the stove. "Pick it up."

Akainu watched as the fallen match sticks were gathered up and hastily slapped into the box. The phenomena didn't make any sense. He didn't understand what was happening. A violent force pushed him forward to knock him further into the building, and he stumbled to catch himself, caught off guard. He realized that Law _did_ have an accomplice, and turned to look at him as he heard a match catch, flame lighting up the darkness of the kitchen.

He didn't understand how the kitchen knife located on the far counter was suddenly in his mid-section, held tightly within a pair of hands that were already bloodstained – _the orderly's_ – and he looked down to watch his own innards spill out in front of him; gutted so quickly that he hadn't even a change to move or defend himself. He had to look back at Law as the man smiled smugly at him from a safe distance away.

"I told you," he said on a chiding tone. "Now, start regretting everything up to this point. And do it _nicely_."

Akainu stared at him, shaking hands going to his front, to somehow keep the rest of him inside. His face reddened with effort, and he spit, " _Never_!"

"Then let's burn him!" the boy cried, dropping the match onto the floor, flames licking upward immediately.

His flesh sweating with effort to stay in control, Dr Akainu looked at Law with widened eyes, the man grinning brightly at him. It made sense, then. The man's file – Dr Smoker had missed it. Dr Hina hadn't seen it, either. Dr Akainu looked back at Law's accomplice, grinding his teeth from the shock and pain, struggling to remain conscious. He refused to give these men any satisfaction in his mortal suffering.

"Do you remember a man named Buggy?" Dr Akainu was asked, in a voice so soft that it seemed unused. But the name was familiar. Dr Akainu pictured the subject's face moments later, and, despite his pain and the feel of rising heat, puzzlement clouded his features.

"You let him go after drilling a hole in his skull," a woman said, Dr Akainu turning away from him to look back at Law, watching him walk along the counter space. Fire ate at the walls, built over the kitchen island. Smoke filled the ceiling, and illuminated the area brightly. It grew difficult to breathe. Dr Akainu was aware that his own guts were burning in the oil laid at his feet. "But it didn't work. Your theory that his obsession with dismemberment did not waive after being rendered a vegetable. You let him go because he was a 'waste of funds'. But he continued to pursue his sick hobby on innocent people."

Dr Akainu breathed heavily. His lungs were burning. He struggled to breathe properly, but the man behind him refused to budge. There was a strange vibration all around him, buzzing around his head, pushing against his skin. As if something with intense heat cooked the very air he breathed. A stranger sort of fire and force.

"We watched our friend die because you let Buggy go," several people said at once, and Dr Akainu froze, hearing all of them. But he focused entirely on the one person in front of him.

"So, this was it? This was your grand scheme? Getting me out here for your revenge? Killing _good men_ just to draw me in? You couldn't have just sent a challenge letter? I would have responded!" he snarled, hugging himself tightly as he struggled for a proper breath. Knees weak, he let go of his mid-section and reached for something to hold onto, clutching the edge of the nearby counter.

"Part of it," he heard from behind him. "Part of it to make sure all the crazies die before they're ever released. So no one has to suffer what we did."

" _Pathetic_ ," Dr Akainu snapped, trying to draw away from the flames. "None of these men are Buggy!"

But he felt a foot against his back, pushing him further into the kitchen, Law escaping to the outside with a stretch of his arms. The door slammed shut behind his accomplice, the lock slamming into place.

Left behind to face the fire, to remember Buggy the Clown, Dr Akainu bit his lip and refused to give the pair satisfaction in his suffering. He found the set of keys he'd stuffed in his jacket.

: :

"Where's my brother?" Ace asked groggily from his room, leaning heavily against the door. He waited for someone to answer. He had been calling for Luffy for the past five minutes, and the more silence extended, the more panic started to fester within his veins, fearing the worst. He wasn't sure if he was just getting over the sedatives, or if it were just the late hour, but it truly felt as if he were the only one here. The feeling was terrifying. "Someone? _Anyone_?"

"He's fine," he heard Sanji reply from a distance. He wasn't sure where the sound was coming from, exactly. The man sounded out of breath, and Ace pressed himself against the cage to look for him. "Akainu had forced some of his own medication in him, and the last I saw of him, he was flying high. But everyone is quiet, now, considering the hours."

"Did I miss dinner?" Ace asked mulishly. "I'm fucking _starvin'_. Let me talk to him, to Luffy."

"It's best to stay where you are, right now. There's nothing you can do."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Ace asked, frowning. "Where are you?"

"There's no point expending energy on something you can't stop. It's best to just…stay out of the way."

Ace furrowed his brow, unable to understand why Sanji was speaking so cryptically. He called out for Luffy once more, repeating his name over and over with rising impatience. He was a little surprised that no one responded to him. Usually, an orderly or two would venture over to tell him to 'cool it'. He was also interested in meeting this Dr Akainu. From the sounds of it earlier this morning, he was a tough one, and Ace wanted to test him a little, just to see what he could get away, with.

He pushed against the door, trying to see exactly where most of the light was coming from. He called for Zoro, for Penguin, pounding on the door. With a frustrated sound for a last resort, he called for Law.

No one replied, and he didn't hear movement. Absolutely bewildered, Ace looked out into the hall again, but he couldn't see if any of the other bedroom doors were opened or closed.

"Hey, Sanji. _Sanji_. _Hey_."

" _What_?"

Ace frowned, because he still couldn't tell where the other man was. "Come on over here."

It took a few moments before the younger man answered, and it was with a petulant tone. "I don't want to. I'm tired."

"C'mon, man, humor me."

"No. _Shut up_."

With an impatient sigh, Ace rested against the door. He listened to the sounds of the mansion around him, straining to hear anything of Luffy. Usually, his brother was bouncing in place or talking miles per minute, but after last night…

 _Last night_!

" _HEY_!" he shouted again, hitting the door with renewed fervor. "What's the deal with you an' Trafalgar? I saw you with him, last night! You were _with_ him! You were walkin' with him!"

He heard a scrape of metal, and pictured the man kicking his own bed with frustration. So Sanji was in his room – most likely out of breath from exercising. " _I was not_! I was asleep the entire time! Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because I _saw_ you – "

"I was in bed the entire time, minding my own fucking business. I don't know what you're talking about!"

Ace began to doubt himself. He pushed his forehead against the mesh wiring, straining to remember what he could. But he was _positive_ it was Sanji walking in the hallway – he was absolutely _positive_ that it was him following after Law. Then again, he had to admit, it had been very dark. He had seen the slender shape of a man very similar to Sanji – but maybe that man wasn't as slender. Had he seen a ghost? Or was it someone else? Ace didn't think any other man here had a similar figure. But then again, it was very unlikely that it could be anyone else with that impatient stride that Sanji had.

He pushed and punched at the door impatiently. " _Luffy_! Zoro! Hey, you, _Penguin_!"

He stomped on the floor as hard as he could to cause vibration, hoping to prompt the catatonic man their way. Then gave up because the idea seemed absurd. He leaned against the door, growling, unsure of how to reach anyone.

"Where is everyone?" he then asked in exasperation. "Where's the goddamn guards? _Where's the doc_?"

When he didn't receive an answer from anyone, he leaned against the door, growing anxious.

Something overhead rattled with immense strength, startling him. He looked up with worry, unsure of what caused it. The entire mansion seemed to rattle with restless action, the walls sighing. Wood popped and creaked, and something snapped noisily from within the center of the structure. He pushed away from the door, unsure of what to think. The air grew hot and heavy, the sensation of bubbling pushing against his skin. But when he lifted his arms to look at them, it was only sweat.

He heard the sound of a boy complaining, the faraway sound too distant for him to identify both direction and content. He wanted to think it was Luffy, but the voice was much too young. Squinting, he crouched against the door, feeling the metal vibrate slightly at his touch. Something whispered over the hallway floor, as if a heavy piece of cloth were being dragged over it. After that were the heavy footfalls of large feet, and he wouldn't forget that sound. The smell hit him moments later, and he slapped his hands over his nose and mouth to somehow block it from entering his system. He pictured Apoo walking down the hall, guts wrapped around his neck and shoulders, dragging along behind him.

' _Guts can extend to nearly twenty-two feet long_!' he remembered Law saying, mimicking his accent. ' _That's_ this big _in hick speak_!'

Heart racing wildly, Ace strained his ears to listen for anything else accompanying that sound.

"Settle down in here, it's not what you think," a man snapped with a tinny sort of tone – as if speaking from a radio from another room. Ace's eyes widened, knowing that voice. He stood up with a startled expression, absolutely _positive_ that it was Dr Smoker's voice he'd heard. His skin pimpled with terror at that moment – he held his breath, peeking out the window with much trepidation. As much as he wanted to confirm that it was Smoker, he didn't actually want to see the man's ghost at all.

Not even moments after that, he heard a fervent prayer being whispered over and over, asking for the Holy Trinity to watch over the rest of them. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from.

But all he saw was an empty hallway, lights flickering in the distance.

"Sanji!" he hissed, barely above a whisper. " _Sanji_!"

"I don't hear nothin'," he heard the man say stubbornly, but his voice was muffled, so Ace pictured him with a pillow over his head.

He gave a frustrated curse, lowering himself into a crouch once more. He strained his ears to listen for anything else, _something_ that would tell him what had happened to the others. He heard the boy again, giving a yell of disgust. There was also a distant rumbling, as if thunder were gathering from miles away, causing the earth to vibrate. It was drawing closer, captured within a narrow space – he pictured the stairway.

Whoever it was, they were coming up to the Second Floor.


	9. Chapter 9

DedicatedFan: It just gets more insane – it will crest, soon. Thanks for the review! :D

: 9 :

Almost at once, the noises stopped. The lingering silence was almost as maddening. He heard the slight whisper of someone's barefeet moving through the hallway, a heavy clink of keys as one was sought. The sound was too far away from his door – Ace pictured Law standing outside of Sanji's room. He stood up to shout at him, but _something_ caused him to drop back down before the action was completed.

" _Shh_ ," someone whispered, too close to his ear for him to be comfortable with. But every instinct of his rang out, telling him that retreating was his best option. Not the one he wanted, but one that was necessary. He grit his teeth as he also struggled to ignore the fact that some _invisible_ person was telling him to be quiet.

"As you were promised," he heard Law say, his voice lowered to fit the thick silence of the Second Floor. A set of keys jingled noisily, and Ace furrowed his brow, feeling anger rising from deep within him. Didn't Sanji just deny any involvement with Law? Just minutes previously, he'd _denied_ any sort of involvement with him. "But _these_ won't be needed, anymore."

"Give those to me."

Ace wondered what it was they were negotiating. What had been the cost of leading Akainu to certain death? And how the hell did he miss this clandestine partnership? The two of them were never on friendly terms – but Sanji kept everyone at arm's length, and Law taunted all of them. So how was it the pair of them were speaking so freely to each other when they thought no one was listening?

He heard Sanji mutter darkly, "You fucking bastard."

" _Afterward_."

"You promised - !"

" _Was_ it me?"

There was such a long stretch of silence that Ace wondered if his earlier theory was right.

"Penguin said you've been storing some things in his room."

" _Penguin doesn't talk_ \- !"

"Then… _this_ …?"

There was more stunned silence, and suddenly the sound of a scuffle. Law laughed loudly as Sanji cursed him, the sound of smaller objects – _pills_ , Ace imagined – hitting the floor. There was a hard sound of something hitting the wall, and Law's laughter ceased abruptly. Keys jingled again, the sound suddenly muffled as they hit soft surface.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Here. I promised you these two."

"You _promised_ me," Sanji said roughly, voice tight, shaking with upset. "Please give those back to me."

Ace's forehead furrowed. This mystery just seemed to deepen. Had Sanji just accepted that Penguin could talk? What was he hiding in his room?

"I won't give these to you. Why should you have a peaceful death after the others suffer horribly?"

" _Fuck you, I have nothing to do with your vendetta_!"

"You have _everything_ to do with it, Vinsmoke-ya! It's only by default that you'll die here, with the others, in the same state as they. I didn't know you'd be in here with him when I arrived. But _all_ of you are batshit crazy, even if yours is only self damaging. After we walk away, we'll find another way to crush your father's cold, ugly heart. There are still three boys and a girl that he happens to cherish more than you – we'll get his eventual apology that way."

"Threatening them does nothing to me. Doing this won't earn you any satisfaction – in the end, _he's_ still dead!"

"Not entirely dead," the boy spoke up cheerfully. "I'm still here. See?"

"…You're a fucking nutcase. Even more so than those other guys!"

Law's voice erupted with impatience. "There's no other way about it but this way, life for a life!"

"That's _your_ own goddamn choice!"

"It's not _my_ fucking choice!"

"It's your own fucking fault you opened that box! This is not something that boy would've approved of! This is not him seeking revenge, it's something else – it has a hold on both of you!"

"Nonsense. Open wide…"

"Get the fuck out. GET OUT!"

"Vinsmoke-ya, stop your blubbering. It doesn't earn sympathy from me. Wipe those eyes, have these two, take a pleasant nap. When morning comes, you'll at least wake up to a brand new day without Akainu making decisions for you. You won't have to go home. Dr Hina will make sure that you're still a helpless victim of your own disorder. Be grateful for that much," Law said, his voice carrying as he began moving for the door.

Ace crammed a clenched fist against his mouth to keep from yelling out. Maybe Sanji wasn't directly involved with the murders, but he definitely contributed, from the sounds of it. Those two _were_ working together. They had some sort of a connection, a past together. Ace was aware that they were from the same island – Sanji's was a large, powerful family. Law came from a similar one. Maybe they'd run in the same circles as children.

"Did you at least look over that roasted chicken, like I'd asked?" Sanji asked tightly.

Despite himself, Ace felt hungry. His mouth salivated at the thought of eating such a dish. He sucked his lips inward to keep from drooling. For a few moments, Law didn't say anything. Ace imagined him looking back with a disgusted expression, his halting steps taking him just outside Sanji's doorway.

"It was good," another man answered quietly.

" _Help us_!"

"I've done everything I can to ask God for assistance, but he doesn't seem to be listening to me. I don't know what else to do. Everyone is very enthusiastic about what they've contributed to. I've no choice, and no less of a voice to be heard. This house is too corrupted. God can't get in. That's why they're still trapped here. Those other guys…"

" _You_ can do it. You can stop their rampage."

"Here…"

Ace frowned, hearing the retreat of steps, the creak of the bed. He was utterly confused. This voice was someone he'd never heard, before. Sanji's familiarity with it made him angry – he wanted nothing more to burst out of his room and administer justice to both of them. Sanji was just as much of a murderer as Law was if he'd said nothing about these personalities; actively conspiring with him.

"Take these. _Take them_. Quick. If you're asleep, he'll leave you alone. The others are safe, right now. That medication Akainu gave them saved them. Tomorrow, if you wake up, think of something to stop them."

"Robin – "

"She's just as bad as they are. Don't trust her. _Here_. Take it. Please. _Please_!"

" _You_ have to do this. He's only doing this through you! He only started this once you arrived. With Apoo – "

"God has abandoned me because of this, and no longer speaks to me. I have no more faith in my abilities. _Hurry_. Take it. _Please_. Another day! You can make it another day! If your family comes, go with them. Warn them! If they don't believe you, then leave. God will forgive you for this, if you pray enough."

There was such intense silence that Ace felt uncertain as to what was happening – what was being said. Then he heard movement from a distance, and Sanji's bed squeaked slightly as weight was put on it.

"I'm sorry," he heard one of them whisper, but Ace really couldn't tell which one said it. " _I'm sorry_. I can't help you anymore."

Someone laughed loudly at the end of the hall, and footsteps warned Ace that Law was moving. The door to Sanji's room slammed shut, and the key turned. After a few moments of still silence, Ace blinked heavily, trying to picture the scene outside. He didn't know where the laughter was coming from, or what that sound in the distance was; but he had so much going through his mind at that moment that he wasn't sure where to start.

"You fucking bitch," Law cursed hard. " _You fucking little bitch_. Goddamn it. _Goddamn_ it!"

"Why are you so angry?" a woman soothed gently, just outside of Ace's door. Even the sound of Law's movement changed, and he was wholly confused. The man obviously had multiple personalities, and when it changed, so did his entire manner.

In fact, it made sense, looking back at things, when Law reacted with confusion when his dominant personality caused trouble for him. It seemed they all retreated when they'd caused damage – but what didn't make sense was how easily they seemed to communicate with each other to a degree. He tensed as the 'woman' walked past his door.

"Akainu is still moving. Let's go have some fun with him."

"Did anybody hear what he said?" Law asked, keys jingling.

"I don't listen to that guy," a boy whined.

"Ha ha! Nothing more or less the usual!" another man commented lightly. His voice had a slight edge to it, a more sinister tone. A chuckle emerged, the same one that Law used when giggling or laughing in the fact of trouble. "Just the same old, same old. Relying on God to make his decision for him. Like God will listen to someone like us."

"It bothers me that I can't hear the things he says, sometimes," Law muttered, stalking past Ace's door. "It just bothers me. I wish I could kill him, too."

"Then kill your fucking self!" Sanji shouted after him.

"You're _next_! Before any of these drooling idiots, _you're_ next, meat sack!"

The staircase door opened, and Ace heard the labored breathing. He realized that it was Akainu. A man laughed merrily from the end of the hall, and Law paused in mid stalk. This time, Ace pushed against the door, looking through the window. He couldn't see the stairway, but he could see Law standing there, jiggling the keys within one hand. The tension grew, and that vibration, that hot, bubbling sensation of heat began to build, making him blink rapidly.

Dr Akainu's breathing was heavily labored, laced with pain and struggle. His movement was too heavy, too off – he was badly wounded, Ace figured. He wished he knew where Luffy and the others were. He wished he could get to them.

"Trafalgar," Dr Akainu snarled, his voice laced with agony. " _You_. Penguin. Both of you. You want to kill a man? You make sure of it! I'm not that easily defeated!"

That evil laugh erupted from Law. "Look at you struggling! Fascinating. Holding your guts in one hand, like livestock struggling on the hook! What a load of work staff has in the morning!"

"Buggy the Clown was a former patient of mine, yes – it's unfortunate that my procedure didn't work. But that doesn't mean you follow in his footsteps! You're only flattering his memory with carrying on his work!" Dr Akainu paused to give a clenched growl of effort, his footsteps heavy as he leaned against the wall. "But this time, I will succeed with you. Come here!"

"Oh, right away," Law said, snickering. " _Right away_ , sir!"

"We must eliminate them all," Ace heard from further down the hall. This voice was quiet, the air made hotter.

Amidst some labored breathing, Dr Akainu growled low, " _You're_ the main culprit. What's your real name, son? What's your family's real name?"

"Don't give him any more attention," Law interrupted.

"Are you the fucking devil?" Dr Akainu asked, his voice directed away from them. "That's what this is? This strength? Gifted with the devil's power?"

"Admittedly, it was only years later when our silent but deadly friend here developed some interesting abilities. We don't know if it were the trauma of seeing our friend torn apart, _still alive_ , I might add, that awakened them, or the spirit board we used later to try and rouse him," Law mused. "Whichever, it's only come in handy. I don't know if it's truly him inside that unmoving shell, or if it's that someone else we awakened."

"Sorcery. Devil's play. And _you_ …which one are you?"

"We get confused, sometimes, too. Is it me speaking, or is it _him_? As long as we're together, we're just a pair of naughty little boys up to no good. Unfortunately, even God has His hands too full to decide which of us is the main aggressor. Which is why Rosinante tried to separate us. Sengoku was unaware of how far gone we actually were – another day, he would've realized _who_ we were. But Rosinante didn't tell him very much about us. He was…ashamed. Scared to admit we were out of his control."

"What's your name? At least tell me who you really are!"

"I'm Law."

"I'm Robin."

"I'm Shachi!"

"I'm Shiliew."

"There's one more!" Sanji shouted from his room. "There's one more, but they won't let him talk!"

"Shut up, you! Enough with that mouth!" Law shouted back at him.

" _You knew of this_? And said _nothing_?" Dr Akainu snarled, then coughed, sputtering heavily. Heavy movement suggested him moving, and Ace pushed hard against the window to see him, making his way towards the hall, risking his safety as Law took a step to the side to let him pass. "You said _nothing_ of this demonic creature? You're as much to blame as they are for their transgressions! You'll rot in Hell alongside with them!"

"I don't care," Ace heard Sanji mutter. " _I don't care_."

" _Shh_ ," Ace heard again as he opened his mouth to say something, and it frustrated him to listen. To slip out of sight again, crouched against the door. His entire body trembled with effort hearing Dr Akainu make his way towards the room.

" _Not ah_ ," Law said, and Dr Akainu gave a loud shout, a struggle insuring. Wild laughter left Law at that moment, and the shriek of pain left the doctor. Ace couldn't imagine what it was that made him scream that way. Law cackled – no, _not_ Law; it was one of his personalities – and a heavy thump sounded out.

"That's _our_ prey for tomorrow," Law said lightly. "He's going to get it good for this. As for you! To the medical ward with you! Let's try to put you back together again. Draw it out. We're having too much fun for you. Let us demonstrate on you what we saw Buggy do to our friend. It might be healing therapy, for us."

There was a strangled cry of pain, and a large scrape of sound – Dr Akainu was being dragged from the hall, and he could only release those cries of agony. Law followed along behind him, giggling in that mad way he had. The sound of Dr Akainu's voice faded once they reached the medical ward, and Ace sat there in silence, listening to the rest of it.

"Use it," that same voice whispered to Ace, close to his ear. " _Use it_."


	10. Chapter 10

DedicatedFan: Hopefully this chapter clears up some confusion – or not. :D It's funny you mentioned the Vinsmokes.

Alasse-m: it was only a coincidence. He never expected to run into Sanji in this place, but it's convenient for him.

Pokipo: Ah! Thanks! This chapter might clear up some confusion, or cause more. Either way, it's not ended, yet!

: 10 :

Dr Hina bowed her head low, lighting up a cigarette as she watched law enforcement leave with the last body. They would not be back – whatever forces were at play at Wickem Sanatorium, the police chief refused to lose anymore men to it. Supernatural or not, whoever was killing these men were not going to be stopped. After seeing the bodies of the last nightshift orderly and Dr Akainu, she did not blame them. All the patients were found locked in their rooms, and two of them could not answer for last night's actions. They were both sick after the dosages Dr Akainu had given them, Luffy protesting about being rendered a zombie. Ace was surprisingly very calm and quiet, but there was rage in his eyes. Dr Hina had a feeling he knew what had happened, but he wasn't saying a thing.

Dr Hina wondered if he could.

Law was unusually different from all the time she spent with him – not threatening or suggesting, just subdued and hollow. Asking her to find power in prayer for all of them. It was the first time she'd heard of him having a religious side, but it did nothing to prompt anymore thought. Her bias wall was much too high for him. Sanji was very quiet and would not look at her. She wasn't sure if Sanji's family would pick him up after Dr Akainu sent out the notice yesterday, but she was expecting an answer, today. She figured it was that that kept the third son very quiet and still, dreading the answer he'd hear.

She was wrestling with her options, and none of them were the best for the patients. If she let them go, that caused danger to themselves and to others around them. She kept them locked up because she was the only staff on hand, and she left for the First Floor, overwhelmed with the situation. Luffy protested and banged on the door, pleading for her to let them out, but she had to ignore it. She stared out at the pathway leading up to the house, listening to the wind rustle through the trees. Without anyone to guide her, she didn't know what to do. She knew that one of them was the killer – she knew without a doubt that it was Law. That was Law's doing in the medical ward, with Dr Akainu. That room would not be viewed the same.

She closed her eyes in an effort to block out the sight of Dr Akainu's insides spreading away from him on the operating room table. She tried not to picture the sight of his blood staining the floor, his face forever twisted with some sort of expression – teeth bared. All the medical tools were lying around him, handprints everywhere. ' _Your turn_!' was written in Dr Akainu's blood on the main wall. The kitchen was a total loss – she knew the patients were starving, but she hadn't any way to feed them. The remnants of what was left after the building burned down was a confusing wonder as to how it even was accessed in the first place.

She smoked her cigarette in silence, trying to think of what to do for the patients.

: :

Near mid-afternoon, she heard the knock on the front door. She cringed at the thought of interacting with anybody outside of the sanatorium's perimeters, but at the same time, she was expecting Sanji's family, and anyone from town to deliver supplies. With a short exhale, she pushed up from the desk and took her time walking to the front door, noting that the orderly's bloodstains were still visible. The smell of bleach was heavy, and it made her sick as she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

The snooty face of the first son of Vinsmoke greeted her stiffly, holding up a folded set of documents. She couldn't remember his name, opening the doorway to admit him in. he didn't say anything, but he did note the smell in the hall. With the way sunlight streamed in from the First Floor windows, he did not see much of the stains behind him as he shut the door, following after her.

"Will you be escorting your brother home?" she asked woodenly. Feeling guilt build within her at the loss of a patient that needed care and understanding; but knowing it would be safer if he left Wickem.

"Where is all your staff?" Ichiji asked curiously. "This place is usually so busy. Are they out on holiday?"

Dr Hina didn't know how to answer that. She was silent as she led the way to the visiting room, looking over the documents he'd given her. Judge didn't want Sanji released from the sanatorium. He could not provide the needed care to 'save' him, and after the last jailing incident, Judge felt his son's behavioral problems were more than the family could endure. Other options on his treatment needed consideration. Conveniently, Judge was also out of town, island hopping for fundraising efforts for the town's militia, so he'd sent his first son in his stead. Ichiji had the power to make decisions on his behalf – the sealed documents from their family lawyer was proof of this.

She set the documents aside.

"I was expected to talk to Dr Akainu," Ichiji said, seating himself across from the window. "Is he available?"

"No. Just I. At this present moment, I implore you to disregard the concern for his behavioral problems. This sanatorium has actually lost funding to continued care, and we are trying to send our patients elsewhere to continue their treatment. It is – it has been decided that its doors will close very soon. Which is why you don't see staff," she added bitterly, twiddling her thumbs. She did not want to explain the real actions as to why the building was 'shutting down'.

"If Sanji could be included in that 'elsewhere', it would be appreciated. We cannot take him in at this time. We lack the proper response to his behavioral issues. We can't get him to eat, we can't get his cooperation to behave. He's caused us many problems with in-family fighting, and father feels he is unqualified to care for him, any longer. He simply can't do it."

"The situation is a little more drastic. I am imploring you – take him home. After tonight, these doors will be closed and locked forever. The others will be shipped off island to another facility, where they will not receive the best possible care – their faculty is cruel and indifferent, and won't treat them very fairly. If you don't take your brother home today, he will return to you later in a body bag."

"I'm sure it's not that dramatic," Ichiji scoffed, crossing his arms. "Father wants nothing more to do with him after that last incident. He is destructive and careless and we were humiliated when he chose to act out at dinner, prompting police response and jail time. People on the island were whispering."

"Such snobbery. Perhaps it's time to look at yourselves," Dr Hina snapped at him. "Perhaps _you_ are the issue!"

Ichiji gave her a startled look, then snorted. "Where is a male doctor? My brother is very disturbed, and needs a lot of care. It wouldn't be fitting if he was returned to us in the same state he left us. Father cannot be expected to be my brother's personal psychiatrist. It would be unwise to allow him home. Perhaps a male doctor can better understand what I am imploring."

"Dr Akainu took leave, recently, and the only time you'll see him is in Hell."

Both of them startled, looking back. Dr Hina paled as she realized Law was standing in the hall, wearing one of his pleased expressions. Ichiji stood up from the couch with a confused frown, seeing that Dr Hina looked entirely unnerved.

" _How did you get out of your cell_?"

"'Cell'? I understood it to be a 'room'," Law said lightly, hands gliding into his pockets. He looked to Ichiji. "This is big brother Vinsmoke, isn't it?"

"Please leave," Dr Hina said hastily to Ichiji, gesturing at the other door near the side. "Please. _Go_. Quickly. For your own safety."

"This is a patient?" Ichiji asked, bewildered to the change of mood. "Where is your staff? Shouldn't they be monitoring this sort of thing?"

"It's funny how you all have some similarities, but you don't look alike. Tell me, brother Vinsmoke, what does it feel like knowing the exact reasons why Vinsmoke-ya feels he can't go home, again?" Law commented, watching them make their way across the visiting room for the side door he'd taken out to the kitchen last night. It was an easy action to pivot, watching as Dr Hina fumbled with her keys to find the appropriate one. She wouldn't find it – he had it in his pocket. Ichiji just looked at him with bewilderment, unsure of the panic she reacted with.

Dr Hina released a noisy curse, not finding the key. Now that she was looking at it, three keys were missing from the ring. She paused, lifting her head as she acknowledged this. Then looked back at Law with alarm.

" _How_?" she repeated, teeth gritted as her breath grew choppy.

"It doesn't matter," Law said lightly. "What matters most is that there's no one here to stop me. I'm curious. How does it feel to have people just…turn and abandon you when you need help the most? It's a most difficult feeling to accept, I don't think people of your standing could fully understand it until it's actually happening to you."

Ichiji realized Law was addressing him, and he looked at Dr Hina for some sort of direction. But the woman looked utterly frightened, frustrated, and he started to grow aware of the danger. The lack of staff had been curious, but now it was just overwhelming how they were very alone. He had a carriage outside, but only a driver and a servant accompanied him. He had to leave the place, warn the authorities of the danger.

"Who is this?" Ichiji asked Dr Hina. "Is this one of your patients?"

"You must escape. You _must_ somehow get out of here," she said, moving back towards the visiting room. "That man is dangerous. He's already caused so many deaths – you _must_ escape!"

"I thought we were closed, for the day," Robin commented with a chuckle, both Dr Hina and Ichiji looking confused as Law's mannerisms and voice changed completely to that of a woman's. 'She' folded her arms behind her back, taking long, sultry strides towards the main staircase. "You're allowing visitors, doctor? Who is this young man? A secret lover?"

" _Who the hell are you_?" Dr Hina demanded, utterly aghast.

"Oh, never mind me, I'm just looking around," Robin said airily. "I grew curious when we were left in our rooms for so long. Without food, water, medication…Luffy is up there wearing his voice thin trying to call for you. Zoro's upset about the buzzing noises he hears, and Ace is…well…trying his best to dig through sheetrock around his own window. I'm not sure what he's using, but he's digging a nice hole. You should really go upstairs and see this."

"Doctor, what is happening?" Ichiji demanded impatiently, unsure of what to think as this tall, thin man adapted the mannerisms of a woman. Dr Hina looked so pale and scared that her eyes nearly took up most of her face. He started making his way towards the front door, but he remembered that a key was needed to open it.

"Law! Leave them and this man in peace! They've done nothing to you! It was staff you were upset with - !"

"My name is Robin," came the smooth interruption. "I am not that man. I came down here for some food. I was very hungry. Also, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between you two. Vinsmoke-kun is leaving us?"

"You burned the kitchen down, last night, what do you expect?"

"Oh, dear, so that _did_ happen," Robin murmured, finger to her chin. "I thought when Akainu escaped it, it hadn't entirely done so. I completely forgot to return to it to see if I could've saved it, last night. Oh, but I am not a fireman! I wasn't sure how I could save anything!"

Dr Hina didn't know what to say, gaping at 'her' as she walked away from them, hips moving from side to side. But it gave them space needed to get to the front door. She found the key and jammed it in, 'Robin' turning around to look at them. She then began walking back, but that womanly stride was gone. His face twisted with glee. Dr Hina fumbled with the key, her hands shaking. She managed to unlock it, moving to push the door open when Law kicked out and shut the door, then lunged at her, laughing.

She screamed at feeling his fingers wrapping around her neck, falling backward, but Ichiji quickly stepped in, grabbing Law around the neck and head, yanking him back from her. Kicking at them, her legs flailing around her skirts, Dr Hina quickly pulled away, using the wall to get up. But she'd unlocked the door. She pointed at the door, screaming at Ichiji, "RUN! GET OUT!"

He didn't hesitate – he shoved Law away from him, and ran out the front door.

Law picked himself up from the floor, brushing himself off. Then looked over at Dr Hina running for the staircase, keys in hand. He giggled slightly, reaching out to shut the door.

" _Nobody_ gets to go home," he said, smirking.

: :

Once on the Second Floor, Dr Hina raced for the patients' rooms. She unlocked the first three doors, breathing heavily, upset. She knew that if they were to escape, all of them would have to work together. Once released, Luffy pushed out and raced for the lavatory with a happy yell, Zoro following with a relieved expression. Ace grabbed her arm as she'd made her way to Sanji's room, pulling her with him towards the break room. She screamed, frightened for her safety as he pushed her to the elevator.

"Get out of here. You can't trust any of these guys! Not Sanji, not Penguin, not Law. _Get out_! Us other guys, we'll be fine, we'll be right behind you," he said, tapping at the lock next to the elevator. She fumbled with her key ring, finding the one she needed missing. Once he realized this, he pushed her to the dumbwaiter. She opened that, but gaped at it as he forcefully removed the shelf, throwing it aside. He helped her climb in, feeling frantic. It would take her downstairs, near the kitchen. But _that_ access door was locked – on one hand, if she could just hide…if she could just stay still, perhaps she could - !

Before she could say anything, he shut the door, and lowered her down, and Dr Hina had to concentrate on how she was going to escape, instead. Once faced with the access door that would take her outside, facing the ruined foundation of the burnt kitchen, she tried the door. It was locked, and her keys rattled as she fumbled with them. Her panic made her breathe heavily, head swarming with thought, thinking that she was on the same floor as Law was. He must've heard the dumbwaiter being lowered. She examined the locking mechanism, realizing all she had to do was lift the latch. As she did so, she pushed the door open, emerging out into the backyard with a cry of relief. She then began running, determined to find help.

: :

Ace shut the door and looked back at the room. He knew Law was downstairs – all of them had watched him leave. Ace marched in the direction of Sanji's room after a cautious look towards Penguin's. He looked through the window, and saw the man sitting at the edge of his bed, still wearing his good clothes, ready to leave. He searched for the key to his room – all of them required the same one. He found it, unlocked it, and shut the door to just a crack as Sanji looked at him with question. Quickly, Ace was on him, snarling out his name as he took the few steps to him, grabbing his jacket.

" _You knew_! You knew what sort of person he was!" he snapped, keeping his voice low, to not rouse Penguin if the man were awake. Sanji grabbed him with alarm, intending on rising to his feet but he wasn't strong enough to take on Ace's strength. He could only take Ace's harsh shaking, growing frustrated with his own lack of action to defend himself. " _How could you do this_ , knowing what they're doing? You're just as sick as they are! I heard enough to know that you have every involvement with him! With _them_! I heard everything last night!"

Sanji's lips tightened a little. But he refused to make eye contact, eyebrows furrowing together.

"Do you mind explaining what the fuck this guy's capable of?"

"I…it's not…it's him, it's Penguin. Something – there's something inside of him that's making Law do all this - !"

"How do you know this? He has multiple personalities, he has – different people talking for him! And which one is the - ?"

"There's five of them, really. That one, the dominant one – he goes by Law's name, but it's not him. The real one – is a very religious – he wasn't always like this. He doesn't speak up often unless they let him, or…"

"Then you know them….you _know_ them."

Sanji didn't answer, but he still didn't look at Ace.

Ace shook him with frustration, hissing, "Answer me! They mentioned gettin' revenge against your own fuckin' family!"

Sanji pushed him away, sitting back down on the bed with a reluctant expression. "It really has nothing to do with our family, it…but…"

"If we're gonna make it out of this alive, I'm goin' to need information," Ace growled at him. "I don't plan on dyin' in this place at his hand! At _any_ of their hands! And for you to run off because daddy's calling you home ain't fair! So you might as well as tell us why they're fixin' to kill us!"

Sanji gave the doorway a cautious glance, fiddling with his thumbs. Then he muttered, "I might not get to go home, anyway."

" _Just tell me_!"

Exhaling heavily, Sanji kept his voice low, focused on his entwined hands.

"My brothers and I were born the same day. On our ninth birthday, father hired a man to entertain us. He'd thrown a very small party, mainly for the adults, and a few of the kids that showed up weren't interested in a creepy, slow talking clown that often forgot what he was doing. Father was getting impatient because my brothers are very hard to please, and the clown kept…anyway, Law was one of these older kids. He had two friends – Jeffery and John. Being older, they left the garden party early, wandering off as boys do. I don't know if they took one of father's liquor bottles, but I do remember the servants being anxious when they discovered that a very expensive whiskey was missing.

"I remember father casting out the clown for his ineptitude, and the man was very confused as to why he wasn't being paid. I was…I felt sorry for him, because, at the time, he seemed mentally incapacitated. But once he realized what was happening, he grew angry. I remember us kids were herded off to safety once he started yelling at my father…then he was forcefully escorted off the property.

"That night, word went around that those boys were missing. I remember they sent out search parties to find them. They asked all of us if we remembered seeing them. Sengoku – "

"You knew him, too?"

"He was a detective for a very long time, everyone knows Sengoku! That clown happened upon those boys, hiding away to drink. He found them in an isolated shack at the edge of the property, tied them up, and pulled one at random." Sanji grew reluctant to talk, looking at his shaking hands.

Ace kicked at his bed to get him to continue, and he did so, his voice low.

"He did terrible things to that kid, making the other two watch. Rumor was, by the time he was finished with the boy, his…his innards were out, and he was still alive, and…but before he could claim another victim, police found them, alerted to activity in that area. There was a shoot out. He died. The boys lived. Father burned down the shed after the remains were…removed.

"One of the survivors was Penguin. _Jeffery_. They were stricken, of course, but nothing unusual happened at first. Then, he just stopped talking. He stopped participating in sports, in school, in everything. I remember seeing him back then and thinking that his soul just walked away from him, abandoned him after watching what happened to his friend. Law had turned to religion to deal with it, and we ran into him at church, many times. I'd asked him if he found comfort in God – he said he was hearing voices, and he would exist in the face of his family, but have no memory of what he'd said or done. The pair of them were involved in troublesome things, but…I knew Law would never do these things on his own. He told me himself that he caught trouble doing some terrible things he never remembered doing. He expressed uneasiness being around Penguin, but he couldn't seem to leave him. Then those…those other voices started talking to me. I didn't realize it, at first, but it…it was frightening. Talking to strangers inside of someone that I knew, I didn't know what to think.

"Once I grew aware of who was whom, Law and I traded code phrases. He didn't think that the 'others' inside of him was aware of the other's choices or decisions, and none of them seemed aware of the times he spoke to me. None of them had any idea that the other was talking to me," Sanji explained with hesitation. "At the time, I was getting into trouble with my own…issues, and Law would often encourage me to come with him to church. But church wasn't saving him – I saw less and less of him.

"The last time we truly spoke, he told me Penguin had suggested that they try and contact their friend, whom they named 'Shachi', via spirit board. They tried to do so, but he said Penguin had started acting strangely afterward. And the shadows wouldn't stop moving. He knew it wasn't Shachi they were speaking to, but no one would believe them at this point. They'd caused too much trouble for anyone to consider them seriously, and Rosinante was doing his best to try and keep them separated. He somehow managed to have Penguin sent away – clearly, he was forced here. Church was the only place Law felt somewhat safe in. But he was clearly losing his mind, and he needed help. I stopped talking to him when he started taunting me with the things that only I … _thought_ , I never spoke of these things, and he _knew_ them, so I felt it was supernatural – if I don't care, or don't think, I feel safe from them," he finished.

"Which is why you're always 'not caring' when he does something shitty. You could've told that to the rest of us! You could've warned us!"

"I have nothing – I can't fight them. I can't…my own problems are…are all I think about, now, and, I just…never thought anyone would believe me, and I don't want his attention – I don't want him reminding me why I'm here – if I'm silent, he won't bug me. He only finds amusement in those that oppose him," Sanji said tightly. "Which is why he focused on the doctors, why he focuses in on you."

"He's going to kill all of us here," Ace repeated impatiently. "He's going to kill _all of us_! You have to help us get rid of him!"

"Killing him is impossible with Penguin near," Sanji told him. "I don't understand his illness, I don't know how it works. But all those people aren't the man, the boy, that I knew. They retreat when they sense danger to themselves. If you kill him, you're killing _him_. It's not fair. He needs help, not death."

Ace couldn't understand Sanji's reasoning. _He didn't understand_ , and he couldn't see it his way. If it meant that a man died so others could be saved, then Ace thought it pertinent to remove the one responsible for it all. "So be it. Then we kill Penguin, and Law will leave us alone! Easy! Or vice versa! Or both!"

"It won't be that easy! Don't you see what's happening, here? He makes them real. He can make those people real! They'll stop you from getting close to him, they always do."

Ace thought about it. He did remember seeing the shadows, seeing the figures that often trailed after Law. The boy, the man – but was it Penguin he'd seen the night Law killed Ussop? The half legs in his room – who did those belong to? And the ghost of Apoo, Sengoku – were those things he could control, as well?

"He has creepy ghost powers, then," he decided. "Because of the spirit board."

"I don't know how that thing works, but, yes, something otherworldly took over. That terrible tragedy had warped them both. But whatever it was they released, it helps them. Prayer, God, it doesn't work against them. It only provokes them. Whatever you plan, you can't expect me to help you," Sanji said tightly.

Ace looked at him incredulously, but at that moment, Luffy called for him, venturing back towards the rooms. His whining for food gave him an anxious tremble.

" _Why not_?" he asked of Sanji, straightening away from him.

Sanji didn't answer. He looked away.

"You have to! _You have to care_! We want to get out of here alive!" Ace shouted at him, grabbing his arm. "You have to care about this! None of us want to die!"

"Maybe I don't want to," Sanji mumbled. Ace wasn't sure what he was referring to – wanting to save his own life, or wanting to help. Either answer wasn't the right one for Ace.

"Who's going to die?" Luffy asked, walking into the room. "What's going on? Ace? Are you fighting with Sanji?"

Ace released Sanji with an impatient fling of his arm, then turned to his brother. He grabbed Luffy around the shoulders, pushing him to the door. "Let's go. We need to get out of here. We need to get out of this place. It's dangerous."

"Well, Sanji has to come with us," Luffy said, pushing against him. "Sanji. Let's go. Let's all go outside. Ace, you have the keys, take us outside! I want to go outside! Doesn't that sound wonderful? Where's Dr Hina! Doctor! _Doctor_!"

"Hush, now," Ace said, covering his mouth, pushing him to the door and forcing him out. Zoro was watching them from the hallway, a little mystified by the things around him. "Let's go. We're leaving this place. Dr Hina said we need to get out of here."

"Why? Why though? What's going on?" Luffy asked, Ace pulling him with him as he made his way to the stairway.

"Listen, Luffy, _listen_ to me," Ace said quickly, facing him. He held his brother's face between his hands, so that Luffy wouldn't be distracted by anything else around him. "We need to get out of here. We've been abandoned. Something terrible is happening, and all we need to do is get out of here. Law is a very bad man, and he intends on hurting all of us. I ain't gonna let that happen, so we're goin' to leave."

"Where's Dr Hina, then?" Luffy asked, eyes darting to the side. "Where'd she - ?"

"I helped her escape. But we need to go, okay?"

"Sanji! We're leaving!" Luffy shouted. "Let's go!"

"Leave him. He doesn't want to go with us."

"That's nonsense! SANJI!"

"Great," Zoro said suddenly, looking beyond them. "The moon is full, again. Ah, the air is getting hot. There are flies here."

Much to his horror, Ace felt the vibration in the air, the rising heat. He looked back towards the end of the hall with alarm, releasing Luffy. Impossibly, the shadows were thickening. Darkness was building around them, gathering with such intensity that it was as if someone were pulling the curtains closed. Metal began to vibrate, a hissing sound growing. The more he focused in on it, the more he realized that it was someone breathing slow and deliberately, as if struggling to calm themselves. He pushed Luffy ahead of him, grabbing Zoro by the arm. He found the stairway keys, and struggled with finding the two that would access the two locks at the same time. Once he found one, he quickly unlatched the other from the ring, and pushed it into the other lock.

"Twist at the same time!" he told Luffy, who followed the command, and the door swung open.

"Sanji!" Luffy called impatiently. "Sanji, come along!"

"He's not going with us," Ace said, pushing him down the stairs, Luffy catching himself hastily as Ace grabbed Zoro. "Let's go! All of us, _let's go_! If he wants to go, he'll go on his own."

"We can't leave him! We can't leave him, Ace! _Ace_!" Luffy shouted at him impatiently, pushing against him to try and make his way back upstairs, but his brother was stronger than him, wrestling him back down, nearly dragging him down the stairs. "Sanji! _SANJI_! Come out! SANJI!"

"We are just leaving? Without breakfast?" Zoro asked curiously. "Who let us go?"

Sanji listened to them take the stairs down. He felt the vibration in the air, the heat buzzing low in his ear. He looked to his door, knowing that Penguin was standing at his own, looking out. Whatever the man was thinking was something Sanji couldn't guess – but he knew the three weren't going to be able to leave the sanatorium. The pair were separated by a floor, and he knew Law was on the First, waiting to meet anybody risking the chance to come down.

He reached into his pocket, and withdrew the pills that Law had given back to him, last night. His father wasn't going to allow him home – and if he did, he knew things wouldn't change. Going home meant returning to that dark place, again, and staying here meant he was going to die. He'd given away Penguin's and Law's secret, and he knew Penguin heard him telling Ace of it. Whatever it was that the man was, he wasn't going to let anybody leave.

He watched the shadows on the floor start to build, lurching upward, like smoke. Coloring the walls, the window, rattling the planes of the glass. The ceiling began to vibrate, dust falling down, and something in the hallway scraped noisily. The smell hit him moments later – the shadows weren't all deliberate.

So Sanji looked at the pills in hand, knowing that he wasn't going to go home. If he couldn't save himself, what made others think he could do that for them?


	11. Chapter 11

DedicatedFan: **; D** We're getting closer and closer to Whodunit! I can't say anymore!

MusicalBear: Agh! I'm glad you feel that way about this story – admittedly, it should be an intense read through – every chapter filled with mystery and uneasiness! Thanks for the compliments! I feel awesome knowing that my stories affect you so ; ) And it's totally cool – all your posts have intrigued me with this fandom of yours! I'll have to check it out!

: 11 :

Once they touched down onto the First Floor, Ace hustled Luffy to the front door, and found it locked. He saw that the key was broken into the lock, causing him to curse, hitting the hard wood. He looked out the security windows, but there were iron bars in front – too narrow for them to slip through. He turned and prompted the pair to follow him, looking for the dumbwaiter. But as he saw the solid metal tunnel coming from the dining room upstairs, he saw that it opened on the outside of the building. There was no way to access it from the First Floor.

Ace caught the sharp scent of smoke, and for a moment, his mind fuzzed. In a flash, he pictured different blazes; a recent wildfire, burning candles, the fire that nearly destroyed everything in his hometown. The acrid scent made him think of bright flame, power in its destructive possibilities. How easily structures fell under its strength, toppling into ashes under a miniature sun. How human bodies looked when found afterward, curled and blackened, hugging themselves in an effort to combat the heat. Intense guilt and a heated sense of fascination hit him suddenly, causing a flux of emotions and thoughts that made him anxious to catch the flame.

Luffy realized he was distracted, and looked at him with a frown. Zoro paused in mid step and looked back, eyebrows lifted.

"The sound is louder down here," he complained, flicking at his right ear, before clamping a hand over it. "We should go back up."

"It's bad up there," Luffy said with worry. "We have to get out, Ace said."

"That smell is not doing me any good," Zoro commented, sniffing the air. "Someone lit the fireplace early. It's too warm in mid summer for flames."

"FIRE!" Luffy sounded suddenly, panicking. He couldn't see where it was coming from, but the smoke was building. He could see it charging over the ceiling over their heads, building up from the floor below them. Stricken, he looked towards the basement. Then he understood why Ace had given pause, the man staring off at the wisps of smoke coming from the nearby piping.

He grabbed him impatiently, pulling him out of his trance. "Let's go! Ace! We need to get everyone out of here!"

Rattled by his brief blackout, Ace looked at them, then nodded. He pushed away from the area, looking for another doorway. He reached for the nearest door, into the front office, and found it locked. It rattled in his hand, and he yanked his hand away quickly, sure that someone had twisted it from the other side. Catching his breath, he kicked the door, hearing the response in that kick with one returned.

"The door is possessed," Zoro commented, eyes wide.

"You fucking jerk!" Ace shouted, sure that it was only Law messing with him. "You fucking dick! Come out here and face me – man to man, you piece of shit!"

"Calm down, we'll get to that eventually," an impatient boy's voice said from their left, drawing their attention. Ace wondered how he'd missed seeing Law earlier – the man was on his knees, drawing on the floor with a couple of crayons, the floor covered with hangman games, tic tac toe and various phrases that Ace couldn't see from where they were standing. Ace stared in silence as the man concentrated on his task, but it wasn't a man they were looking at – rather, a man hunched over as a child would be, sitting on his knees with a tongue visible between his teeth.

"There!" he announced, his voice changed into the boy Ace had heard. He accompanied this voice with mannerisms similar to a boy – sitting backward with a huff, head tilted, moving so unlike the tall, thin man that he truly was. "I got bored waiting for you guys, so I decided to 'occupy my mind' like Dr Smoker told me to. My mind certainly was occupied. I think I did pretty good with just a green and blue crayon!"

"Ace? What is he doing, talking like a kid?" Luffy asked, in a much too loud whisper.

"This is part of it, Luffy. This is part of the reason why he's insane," Ace explained, grabbing his arm and forcing him to move in the other direction. He reached out for the side door, frustrated at the sight of the lock with the key broken in that as well. The smell of smoke was growing stronger.

Law looked at them, furrowing his brow. "You can't get out. Nobody can. You're not allowed. No one can leave here, anymore."

"Where's the keys?" Ace snapped at him, taking steps close to him. Law pushed himself to his feet with a startled look, dropping his crayon. Eyes widened, he looked at Ace with considerable fear before smiling, patting his pocket. Keys jangled noisily. With a shriek of laughter, he turned and raced down the hall – it would have been funny to see a man of his height racing away, head bobbing and arms crooked with exaggerated pumping, but Ace wasn't able to laugh. He watched as Law pushed through a doorway near the visiting room, and so he raced after him.

" _Ace_!" Luffy shouted with alarm, unsure of what to do as he watched Ace leave them. The smoke gathering from underneath him alerted him that the floor was growing hot, and he looked down at his feet, covered only by slippers. He looked at Zoro, the man looking at him with unease.

"Kuina said the gates are locked down. We should expect a buggy by morning, but we won't be able to go anyway," he said low. "Should we go upstairs and wait?"

"No, we can't. There's … _Sanji_. Sanji always has keys!" Luffy said, eyebrows lifting as he turned and raced for the stairway. Zoro was left standing there, feeling abruptly forgotten. He shifted uneasily, mystified by what was happening around him. The air felt hot, but it was for another reason entirely – it vibrated, and it made his ears uncomfortable, making him twitch as he struggled to resist the thought that something was making its way inside of him.

he moved to cover his ears when he caught sight of something moving in the hallway Law and Ace had just abandoned. Venturing over, he looked down at the drawings, there. With shaky movement, the scrawl of the boy was rearranging itself from the hangman games, the tic tac toe. Rearranging into something he couldn't really read. The x's threw him off. His head began to buzz, and he didn't like the feeling of whispering coming from everywhere and from behind him at once.

"I can't help you, now," Kuina told him regretfully. "He's much too loud!"

: :

Ace caught sight of Law running around the furniture before jumping onto the largest couch to face him. He hopped up and down with some delighted laughter, causing Ace much pause, disturbed at the sight.

"The floor is _lava_!" Law cried.

"You psycho son of a bitch," Ace muttered with disgust, wondering how these personalities went undetected for so long. He walked forward to teach whoever it was a lesson when the floor creaked ominously, and he found himself lurching backward as it seemed to drop. Sparks of burnt wood snapped as smoke billowed upward from below, casting the room into a dingy fog. It horrified him that this man had set this place on fire when they had no way out of it. He didn't know how Law had caused the fire, where it was exactly, but the basement was out of the question.

He coughed and sputtered as Law used a few tables to run away from the pillar of smoke, to jump onto a chair, and then use that to jump clear to the steps leading out of the visiting room. Seeing that he was getting away, Ace turned and raced back the way they'd come in, spying him running in the halls.

"Dunderhead, dunderhead, stupid face, stupid face!" Law shouted, dancing around Zoro, Zoro looking at him with bewilderment as he crossed his arms.

"Get away from him, stupid!" Ace yelled at Zoro, running fast. Once he realized he couldn't see Luffy, his heart stopped. _"Luffy?_ LUFFY!"

"Hey, Zoro, Kuina wanted you to know something extra special," Law paused in shouting to whisper, watching Ace grow nearer. "But I can't tell you, now!"

"You can see her?" Zoro asked, showing some relief in his features. "Fuck, that's great."

"Don't listen to him!" Ace shouted, Law running away from Zoro with a wild cackle. " Don't listen to a word he says! He's insane!"

He paused in his chase as Law raced down the other end of the hall, near the doctor's offices, the medical ward. His gait turned sloppy, a kid enjoying the chase, to make sure he was still being pursued. When he saw that Ace had caught sight of the drawings around them, he gave an exasperated shout. He paused and began calling them names, shouting out encouragement for the chase. Ace ignored him, reading what had been arranged.

Zoro looked off in Law's direction with bewilderment. "Where'd that kid come from? He's using that guy's voice. Is he a shapeshifter?"

' x x the floooor is lava! Can xx yooou resist the flame, Ace-ya? Oor will you let it eat you?'

"That little shit!" Ace snarled, pushing away from Zoro. Law whooped with delight once he saw that the chase was back on, and pulled out the keys. Giggling madly, he opened the door to the medical ward and slammed it shut as the man caught up. Ace fumbled with the doorknob, then jerked it open. Inside, he saw the man lighting up piles of gauze and paper, the piles tied to each other by a roll of toilet paper. Once one pile lit up, flames licked their way to another, and another, filling the air with smoke. At the end of the ward, Law watched him, tossing aside the matches he'd used. Ace was caught by the sight of flames building over the beds, spreading quickly over liquid spilled on the floor.

He grit his teeth, quite aware of the dangers around him. Heat built fast, and Law clapped his hands,running in place.

"Isn't it pretty? Look how pretty it is! It's so bright! So warm!" he cried, whirling around. He suddenly turned, grabbing hold of a nearby room divider. He shoved it onto the floor, then grabbed another, tossing that over it. Then kicked the bed closest to him, sending it squealing over the floor, essentially creating a pathway from him to Ace.

Breathing deeply, focusing on the man across from him, Ace examined the set up of the room. It was near similar to the one upstairs, but there was only one door that he could access. He knew better than to chase the man, knowing that it was wrong. He could be trapped inside the ward without those keys, knowing that every door was locked. The floor shifted underfoot, smoke escaping from below. It warped and melted, causing one of the beds to sink. He thought of the bodies he'd seen after the fire he'd caused months ago – hugging themselves. The more he stood there, the more he could see them; they were the bodies of his friends, of Luffy, and he felt an overwhelming sensation of guilt hit him.

He didn't cause _this_ fire, but he could be the cause of death for Luffy. With hard breaths, he took a step back. Law frowned at him, seeing that he wasn't taking the bait. So he reached out into the operating room, and pulled out the severed head of Sengoku.

Ace jerked backward with revulsion. The boy tossed it towards him, like a ball – it landed with a hard splatter on the floor, flies buzzing around it. Observing the saggy skin, the half closed eyes, Ace was frozen on the spot. His stomach roiled, bile coating his tongue.

To his horror, the head looked at him, eyes suddenly blinking.

' _I'm sorry. But God will make it right. I'm sure of it_ ,' it said to him, the mouth moving sloppily, dry tongue caught between dried, bloodstained teeth.

"Where is your God, Ace?" Law shouted, hopping up and down once more, seeing Ace's reaction. " _Where is he_? He's not here! Ha ha ha!"

" _You fucking psychopath_!" Ace shouted at him, face reddening as he ran toward him, eager to stop him. Law shrieked with laughter, delighted in the chase being renewed. He stepped back to run through the operating room, keys shaking in his hand when the floor collapsed underneath Ace's feet. Wood shattered, sparks flying upward, Ace crying out with surprise as one of the beds followed after him.

He reached out to catch himself, but the heavy metal frame of the bed rammed into him, further shoving him into the broken section of floor. He hit the basement floor with a hard landing, wood landing around him, the bed's back legs catching against the debris above him. It hovered in the air above him, but he was coughing violently, affected by the heat.

Covering his stinging eyes, Ace managed to see that the entire basement was covered with smoke. Flame licked at the floor above him, guided in long splatters – oil, he assumed, some type of fuel that caused the fire to eat slowly at the supports, the joists glowing blue around him. He wasn't in danger of being burned – he was in danger of heat suffocation, smoke filling his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He didn't know the layout of the basement, but he was frantic to find the stairway, the door out. He stumbled to his feet, affected by the hard landing. He was unable to take a breath, heaving painfully as he found a wall, using it for support. The bed fell through with a tremendous clatter, metal slamming hard off the basement floor, splaying dirt and flames around it. the mattress was on fire, and it lit the area only dimly.

He thought he could hear Law yelling and laughing again, but the sound was far away. _He couldn't breathe_. He slid along the wall, searching in vain for the stairway. Once he reached the concrete spread of the floor near the cells, he fell to it, searching for cool air there. Lifting his head with effort, he managed to see the bottom stairs ahead of him. he began moving in that direction, using his elbows to do so until he could bring his legs under, pushing to his feet. Once he touched them, he climbed them with intense effort, eager for fresh, cool air.

He slammed up against the door, pushing it. Then pulling it when it didn't budge. It only rattled faintly, locked. Panic and frustration hit him, and he banged upon the door, shouting for Zoro to help him.

In the hallway, Zoro heard the noise, and turned, looking in that direction with surprise. He heard his name, but he didn't recognize the voice. The heavy coughing, the thickness of the door distorted the sound. He didn't know if it were one of his friends calling him, or just another one of those voices.

"What's wrong, puppy?" Robin asked him, strolling into view from the medical ward. She leaned against the wall with an amused look. "Look at you, so lost, so alone. Where are your friends?"

Zoro paused to look at her, bewildered by her presence. The tall, raven haired woman smiled lightly at him, arms crossed over an abundant chest. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her in his memory. The banging continued, the voice screaming for him. he looked in that direction again, moving towards it.

"What do you hear?" she asked, walking slowly in his direction. "You look as if you heard, something."

"Just a voice."

"A real one?"

"I don't know…it's calling my name. I should at least check it out before anyone else, does," he said, furrowing his brow. "I thought I heard flies, earlier, I hope it's not that serious. Kuina doesn't want to talk to me, right now. I can't ask her."

"that little girl is your friend?"

"Yeah. Do you see her?"

"I know of her," Robin said mysteriously. "She's at your side all the time, right?"

"Yes. Usually, no one can." Zoro frowned at her. "She only stopped talking to me before you came. Who are you?"

"I'm a visitor, here," she said, flashing a piece of paper his way. His features lit up.

"Can I use that? I might need that to find my friends. Paper can lead me anywhere," he said with confidence.

"Sure. Just bring it back to me when you're done," she said, handing it over.

He took it, but once he touched something wet and thick on the back, he reacted with disgust, flapping it out of his own grasp. Left behind were worms, wiggling frantically in a some type of blackish liquid, and he froze, face paling.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked curiously. "Didn't you want it to find your friends?"

The buzzing noise grew louder, and they were coming from the worms. But the noise wasn't what he thought it was – it was a sharp crackle of sound, as more of the floor from the medical ward fell, taking with it more equipment, a supply closet. The sound was deafening as glass cracked in the nearby windowpanes, an eerie groan billowing over the air as more of the floor started to cave. Smoke filled the air, covered the ceiling.

The banging at the basement door had stopped, Robin noticed.


	12. Chapter 12

Alasse-m: Maybe this chapter will allude a bit to Sanji's backstory…maybe the next. :D Enjoy!

DedicatedFan: Not exactly, just a mind trick, just one of many the pair used to get their way. Maybe the true villain will explain how. :D Or not.

Musical Bear: You could be right! …Or, not…this story was completed, and only edited because I never inserted chapters in it. So inserting chapters required a bit of editing before posting. I'm surprise I had so much restraint in not posting all at once. But I needed people to absorb before moving onto the next chapter. :D

: 12 :

Once upstairs, Luffy ran for Sanji's room, bellowing his name. But he saw that it was closed, and the entire floor felt wrong, to him. It was too silent, and a heavy heat in the air made his skin itchy. There was a low vibration that rustled his hair, caused pieces of the paint to curdle. Wood paneling rattled ever so slightly around him, and he couldn't help but notice the different voices whispering away from him. With a worried expression, Luffy wondered if the place were haunted. He gripped his arm cast with a terrified expression, then relaxed, figuring that if it were haunted, then maybe he'd see a ghost. And since he hadn't seen one, before, this might be his chance.

"Sanji?" he called out tentatively. The smell of smoke was faint up here, but he could see it occasionally slipping through the planks in the floor. As he walked towards the bedrooms, he saw that Ace had attempted to dig out the window, using a nail he must have found loose in the floor. He chuckled at the damage caused, then continued on. Once he reached Sanji's door, he stood on his tip toes to look inside, and saw that it was empty. He pushed the door open, calling his name, worried at the absence of his friend.

He saw a couple of pills on the floor, and frowned. He turned away from Sanji's room, and discovered that the air was hotter coming from down the hall. Deciding to investigate, Luffy turned in that direction and ventured towards Penguin's door. The vibration was heavier, here, making his ear canals uncomfortable, his muscles a little twitchy with a curious response to run away. He was a little frightened, but his curiosity was stronger, and he wanted to see why the air was so much different here.

He stood on his tip toes, cast bumping against the door, carefully propping his hands on the metal and immediately distracted by the vibration he felt. The door felt hotter, here, and while he was concerned for the only man that didn't seem like he was even there at all, he knew something about Penguin had upset Ace. He had to know details.

The man was just standing there within the center of his room, looking at nothing. He didn't look any different. But even as he stood there, things had shifted slightly around him; the vibration had been so strong that his bed had shifted parallel to the wall, and his meager pile of clothes were scattering, ever so slightly, away from him. There was nothing in his eyes to tell Luffy what he was thinking, or even an expression to show any discomfort. The voices were louder in here, but all of them were talking at once. He heard a woman, but then he heard a child, and he heard men, and none of them were distinct to even pick out what the conversation was. It was just a constant drone of noise. In the midst of this clamor, there was a sound of a man muttering to himself; the conversation he had was bitter, and he was asking for his money, for an apology.

"Say you're sorry, fucker, you say you're sorry, you fucking bitch, you tell me you're sorry. I need my money, I need my pay, I didn't do this for free, fucking hell, I'm a good boy."

Luffy narrowed his eyes. The feeling of 'wrongness' was coming from this room. It was everywhere, and it pushed against him, like a fan pushing hot air his way. The feeling of constant vibration made his insides tickle.

"Hey," he whispered, a little tentative to raise his voice in such an environment, but he wanted to reach out to the man just in case. Sanji had said that he still needed care – Penguin couldn't be all that bad if Sanji was still trying to help him. "Psst. Hey. Penguin. You okay?"

All the sounds stopped, and Luffy grimaced, because that wasn't a good sign. For several seconds, nothing happened, and he started to push away from the door to creep away because there was just something utterly wrong about this situation. The vibration stopped, and it was an abrupt change in force. He looked down the hall to see if Sanji were nearby, or for any sign of the others, then looked back to tell Penguin he'd let him out once he found the key. But he gave a startled shout as he saw the man peering out the door window at him, looking at him with bloodshot dark brown eyes.

He started to run away, but the door slammed open, clipping him in the back of the heel, and hit the wall with a resounding bang. Luffy turned around, slouching to reach for his heel, rubbing at it painfully as the door vibrated upon impact. The air grew hot again, and the voices started to collect in volume. Luffy felt that uncomfortable twitching in his ear canal, again, and his skin itched. But he definitely did not want to stand here in the midst of it, anymore.

He turned to start walking away when the man left the room in that slow waddle he had. Luffy looked at him from over his shoulder, unsure of what was worse – that the man didn't need physical prompting to move, that he was moving on his own, or the fact that the vibration was harder, louder in volume, prompting Penguin to move. Luffy couldn't figure it out. But he walked away at a steady pace, grimacing, because maybe he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Goddamn little bitch!" he heard barked out from behind him. The man's voice was unfamiliar to him, creaky, but every word was an effort, as if drawn from deep inside the thinkbox and pulled out slowly. So it made Luffy think that maybe he was a man like them. Mentally incapacitated.

"Come back here, be a good boy, come back here."

"Nope, nope, nope, _nope_ , nope," Luffy repeated to himself.

"I hear you making fun of me! I hear it! I know you're making faces behind my back! I can hear your little mind talking down on me! Making fun of me, goddamn little bitches. All boys, all little boys should be removed, all removed from the face of this life!"

"Good to know you're okay, so I'm going to go downstairs," Luffy said, breaking into a run, sweat building at his temple. But he watched with horror as it slammed shut with such strength and power that it caused the frame to crack. Luffy veered away from the door and ran for the medical ward with a loud shout of horror, promptly forgetting why he was up here in the first place.

The man laughed loudly, and Luffy looked behind him, seeing that the man didn't look like Penguin at all. In those span of seconds, he'd transformed into a man wearing clown makeup, walking with a strong gait, blue hair fluttering behind him. He screamed because this had been one of his personal nightmares, and it came to life. He reached the ward, finding the door open, and slammed it shut, pushing the lock into place. He wheezed, backing away from the door, and looking around himself.

Hand to his heart, Luffy headed towards the other door leading out to the offices, figuring if he did so, he could bypass the man entirely. As he opened the door, he ran into Sanji sitting on one of the beds, staring at the ground. He approached him with a cry of relief, reaching out to touch his shoulder. But he was discomforted to see the far away look to his face, the struggle of eyelids fighting to stay open. Sanji did not look like himself – he looked as he did when he was heavily sedated on his arrival. As if he'd taken too many pills and was only a slug, a zombie.

"Neh, Sanji…let's go, okay? Let's go downstairs, Ace needs a way out. You have keys, right?" Luffy said, patting his pockets, hearing the jingle of keys in his inside jacket pocket. He took them, but Sanji gave him no reaction. Luffy forced his chin up, to make him focus on him. "Hey, let's go. _Let's go_ , there's a guy outside that's extra creepy!"

Sanji shook his head slightly and pulled away, still staring at the floor. Luffy grabbed his arm, yanked hard enough to pull him off the bed. But even if Sanji's disease had taken over, he was still dead weight, and Luffy wasn't capable of carrying any one. He pulled at him with some frustration, but after a few moments, the door slammed with heavy force. Mighty knocking then followed, delivered by an impatient hand. The vibration started again, rattling the nearby counters, causing the floor to tremble. The sound was much too loud, and Luffy dropped his hand to cover his ears. There wasn't a way to escape it – it seemed as if the sound was physically making its way into him, causing an uneasy jitter of movement inside of him, inside of his thoughts.

Sanji pulled away from him, sitting back against the bed. He had no intention of leaving.

Luffy refused this behavior, his choice unacceptable to him. "No. _No_! You'll come with us! That guy is after us - !"

When Sanji didn't respond to either his physical action or denial, Luffy grabbed him again, struggling to get the taller man to stand. But as he did so, the door opened with a loud creak, and he dropped his hold, stepping away from the bed to watch as that man walked in, spying him with an unnatural grin to his face. Facing him again had Luffy's skin rippling with goosebumps, but now that he had a reason to stay, he wasn't going to move. Not until he could convince Sanji to go with him. Sanji gave no reaction to the man, continuing to sit without a lift to his head, and Luffy clenched his fists, ready to fight.

"There you are," the man said, dribbling with a heavy wash of spit. He wiped his face. "There you are. I was finding you. Bad boy. Bad, _bad_ , boy."

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy demanded, wishing he could remove his casts. They were too much weight, but he'd use them if he had to. He had to make it back downstairs with the keys, with Sanji, so they could escape.

"I'm Buggy! Don't you remember me? I'm Buggy…That's my name, right? That's my name, that's…want to see a trick?" he then asked, eyebrows lifting. He walked into the room, his gait slow and unsteady. As he stood, stretching one arm out, Luffy's face ceased with puzzlement. After several silent moments, he lowered his arm, seemingly confused.

Then he looked at Luffy with a set frown, his clownish features dissolving to once again reveal Penguin's expressionless face. Only this time, he muttered, "All of you need to die. No more of you should be released to the streets."

Luffy blinked owlishly, unable to understand how hearing Penguin's voice for the first time made him uneasy. The man wasn't looking at anything, still looking at a point on the floor, reflecting nothing. So his voice was flat and emotionless, but because of the content, was cold and indifferent.

He leaned down, whispering to Sanji, "There's two of them in one. Like Law."

When Sanji still didn't respond to him, Luffy looked at him with frustration. He pulled at him. " _Get up_! Get up! Don't be a wimp, don't do this! We need to get out of here!"

"Just leave me alone. There's nothing out there, for me," Sanji muttered sluggishly, yanking his arm back.

"No, there's _more_ out there, there's freedom, there's new starts, there's new stuff – we don't have to be here, you don't have to go home!" Luffy pleaded. "You don't have to go back home - !"

Giving the younger male an exasperated look, Sanji said, "Luffy, look at me. Once outside, do you really think I have a chance? This isn't…I can't start again. And going home is not…"

"Then come with me! Come with _us_! We have a home, we have - !"

"Ah, yes, Vinsmoke!" the man, Buggy, cried suddenly, drawing Luffy's attention. He looked at him, still not letting go of Sanji, to see Buggy's features shifting. Shadowed, as if one face was fighting another for control. They kept changing, colors merging and re-emerging to form a rattled expression. His voice was muffled, distorted by the vibrations he kept emitting.

"Father Vinsmoke, greedy bitch. Greedy. _Foul_. So many children, for only one reason. But only one gave himself up so the others could be free! I saw it. I saw it, that's why I won't – that's why I couldn't get my pay. This was his revenge! I took this body for revenge! Mine, his...i don't know. It's the same...I...it might be the same..." Buggy trailed off with confusion, unable to understand who he was, at that moment. His motives were so mixed up with Penguin that he couldn't see himself, anymore. Taking on the body of the boy whose friend he murdered, who he forced to participate in the dismembering, mixed his own emotions and thought processes - he was given permission with the spirit board, bringing with him powers only associated with death and destruction, but he couldn't remember his own motives, anymore.

When nothing came from Sanji, Buggy laughed erratically. "I saw! I saw it happen! Pitiful. You should join me, let's get our revenge!"

"I don't know what happened, but it doesn't matter. Sanji's coming with us, we're leaving. We have nothing to do with you, and I don't feel like winding up dead," Luffy said stubbornly, yanking hard on Sanji, pulling him towards a nearby door and fiddling with keys.

"You'll not go anywhere," Penguin said suddenly, having control. "No one will leave."

"I'm so confused!" Luffy cried, looking for a key. But Sanji yanked away from him, crawling away towards the bed, resettling against it once more with his back to them. Luffy moved to grab him, but Buggy charged forward, and Luffy had to stand and fight.

He threw his free hand out, Buggy reaching forward to shove him away with a startled expression. Seeing his advantage in the surprise move, Luffy caught him in the jaw, the man knocked backward, landing hard on the floor. He sprawled out with a startled scream, scrambling to cover himself with haste. Luffy charged after him, kicking him with his free foot. But he felt bad because the man screamed with panic and fright, covering his head, the eerie heat dissipating immediately.

Cowering in front of him, Buggy did nothing to retaliate. He whimpered and cried, Luffy feeling bad for the move when the man clearly had no power to fight back. It was as if he were viewing a pitifully weak person, helplessly curled in a ball. He drew back with a frown, but once he did, Buggy struck out with a foot, catching his casted leg. The surprising pain made Luffy shout, stumbling, and suddenly Buggy rushed him. He picked Luffy up easily, running for the operating room while Luffy struggled to right himself. He hit Buggy across the head with his casted arm, shouting out with the ringing pain, then drove his elbow down. Both of them slammed into the operating table, where they struggled briefly, Luffy shrimping out of his grasp and kicking out, catching him to create space between them.

Buggy straightened up, throwing fists, Luffy blocking easily. He grunted and cursed when his cast was hit, the bigger man driving him away from the table. He reached out to a cabinet, withdrawing a tin full of tools. Luffy plowed a knee into his liver, causing Buggy to curse and call out, slamming against the counter and dropping the tin. Tools scattered over the counter and floor with a noisy clatter. Before Luffy could throw another fist or limb, Buggy caught his shirt, whirling around to shove him far across the floor from him.

At that moment, the floor shuddered. Something groaned noisily, and both of them paused with bewilderment. Smoke began filtering through the floorboards, causing them to look around themselves.

"That jerk!" Buggy cursed, looking outraged. "That jerk! He's going to kill me, too!"

"Are you a ghost?" Luffy asked him, finding the doorknob to the main operating room, pushing it. The lock sounded, and he pushed on it with frustration, looking for the keys. He'd dropped them near the operating table, and lunged for them as Buggy spotted them at the same time.

"That would mean I was dead!' Buggy snapped at him. "Clearly, I am not."

"You are, because you aren't real," Luffy said firmly, slamming into him to get the keys. The man slammed off the table, caught himself, then looked at him with confusion. Once he had the keys in hand, Luffy made his way back to the door, finding the right one. He looked over his shoulder at Buggy, finding his expression puzzled.

"Oh…oh, that's not right…I don't feel…oh, but I am, I…I killed that kid. That…and Akainu, he let it happen, he let me go. Said there were no funds for me," Buggy muttered, scratching his blue head. His drool slipped past his open lips, slurped back in, wiped with an impatient hand. "Said there were no funds. Said…so, so I found others. And…but _that's not right_. I told him…no, that wasn't me. That wasn't me, there…there was another. He was mad at me. There was another…I needed to finish my work, I had to finish my show…I _borrowed_ …I borrowed another, I needed it, he let me in, he gave me permission, I borrowed it, borrowed…"

Completely confused by his rambling, Luffy pushed out into the hallway, limping on his way to the staircase. But it was spewing out clouds of smoke, the smell horrendous. Smoke drifted up from the floorboards, hitting and gathering on the ceiling. The heat rising was uncomfortable, and he remembered that Ace and Zoro were still downstairs. Alarmed, he took the stairs two at a time, the heat nearly unbearable.

Coughing at the inhalation, he raced out onto the First Floor, finding that most of it had sunken down into the basement. There were only large support beams, joists that had yet to fall, standing out from the embers below. Large bursts of flames were licking at the hallway walls, eating though the offices – the visiting room was non-existent, having sunk down into the basement. The sanatorium was collapsing within itself, and Luffy stared at the damage, confused.

"ACE!" he shouted, the roar of flames, the spark and crack of wood making it near impossible to hear anything. His eyes stung with the heat and smoke, and he coughed, covering his mouth. He couldn't see no more than a few feet ahead of him when he turned to the left, to the medical ward. But the hallway there was still standing, the walls lit with flame. "ZORO!"

He ventured cautiously as something began to break apart, falling into the basement. Looking over, he saw that it was the hallway leading to the back of the mansion, to the kitchen, the back yard. That exposed most of the stairway, a skeleton that slowly started to shift under the weight of the upstairs. His feet burned with rising heat, and he tip-toed, desperate to find somebody.

He caught sight of movement ahead of him, and saw Law wander out from the ward. His face twisted with sick delight upon seeing him.

"Ah! Luffy! Luffy, come here! Come here, here's your friend! He's waiting for you!" he shouted, waving at him. It wasn't Law's voice – it was another man, and his face was twisted with a devilish smile.

The stairway shifted noisily, parts of it raining down onto the floor below. That section began to tilt, warping from underneath, wood snapping noisily. Looking up to the second floor, Luffy could see Penguin making his way down, showing nothing on his face. He thought he'd see the man fall once he touched down on the missing steps, but he continued moving as if it hadn't fallen. Somehow, the man was still moving – floating, even. That vibration began to build again, and Luffy forgot his intention to investigate Law's call.

Shoving the keys into his pocket, Luffy threw a fist at Penguin, but the man gave no reaction – taking the punch without a flinch or reaction, ambling past him to stand near a stable section of floor. He looked to his right, not lifting his head – and that section of the mansion began to crumble before their eyes, the Second Floor crashing into the First, pushing all debris towards the basement with a tremendous crash of sound. Luffy ran because it looked as if the mansion would fall completely over them, Law beckoning him with an encouraging expression. Luffy veered right to him, leaping up and kicking into him with both legs. Impact caused Law to fly back and slam into the wall behind him, caught unprepared with the action.

Luffy regained his footing and ran into the ward, seeing it being eaten away by flames. It was brilliant lit, agonizingly hot, causing the upstairs ward to creak and moan as supports were weakened. After seeing that this place wasn't safe, he looked around, seeing Zoro mindlessly stabbing a scalpel into his right ear, scraping hard deep inside. He was mumbling words that Luffy couldn't hear, twitching as he did so. Blooding dribbled over his shoulder, coated his neck and jaw, his hand unrelenting. Horrified, Luffy's mouth dropped open. With how mechanical Zoro was at that moment, Luffy knew there was no saving him. He whirled around at hearing a creak of noise, and jumped at Law to create space once more. But the man's taller frame, his longer reach, grabbed him around his neck, shoving him back into the ward. Luffy struggled to loosen those fingers, seemingly made of steel.

He struggled to breathe, struggled to get firm footing. But he tripped backwards over Zoro, Law following him, giggling.

"Naughty, _naughty_! Stupid kid, this is for every time you got away with your senseless crimes! Taking my food, taking my attention!" Law snarled at him, still using that voice, shifting to settle down on top of him. Luffy struggling mightily, kicking, but he couldn't get enough air. The heat, the smoke of the building, the feel of heated boards beneath him – his panic shot into overdrive, and he threw everything he had to roll them off and away from Zoro. It was Law's longer form that kept him over Luffy, laughing and coughing as he inhaled smoke.

One of his coughing fits caused him to loosen his grip, and Luffy used that opportunity to swing hard, catching him upside the head with a loud _clunk_. Law fell to the side, and Luffy scrambled out of his grip, inhaling deeply with needed air. But he only inhaled smoke, and that caused him to seize, choking on the force of it. He used Zoro to climb over, kicking him into Law's path – he didn't notice if the man was still alive, if he said anything. His mind was just strumming with the urgent need to survive, to _get away_ , because there was danger all around him. Law twisted, reaching out to grab his casted leg, and Luffy's nails scraped over the wood as he found himself drawn back. He turned, and kicked at the man, then sat up and delivered several punches. Law drew back, covered his face, and Luffy kicked him hard, one more time, just to deliver insurance in his escape.

Without a look back, he raced out from the medical ward, keys in hand. He saw that the entire east wing was down, burning brilliant, plumes of black smoke drifting their way, escaping into the daylight. But he couldn't go that way. Penguin stood there at that particular hallway, watching him. Making eye contact. That hot sensation still floated around him, and Luffy turned, giving a desperate sound as he raced for the side door. But once he saw the key twisted and broken in the lock, he turned with a determined expression to bulrush the man waiting there.

Something invisible pushed him back. It was hot, forceful, and it made that same sound as it had upstairs. It was as if someone massive was standing there between them, his feet sliding over the floor. Luffy turned away from that invisible force, and ran back into the medical ward, but Law was standing there, with the scalpel he'd taken from Zoro. That man was lying on the floor, twitching violently, frothing bloody foam as he stared at nothing. Law giggled, wiping his sweaty forehead.

"Don't worry, Strawhat-ya," he said cheerfully. "I can make it painless for you. Just a right slice over the neck. Then you and Zoro-ya can walk each other down to Hell, where the others went."

" _Try it_!" Luffy shouted at him, erupting into coughs as heat surged against him. "Just you try it! Try it! Come at me!"

"You'll never take my food again!" Law shouted at him, lunging towards him. Luffy jerked back to avoid the scalpel, but he slammed hard into that unmoving force again. Twisting a look over his shoulder, he saw that Penguin was in the doorway, just watching him silently. He felt Law's hand splay over his face, and he cried out, hands shooting out to protect himself, and the man started slicing at him. Drawing the blade over and over his arms, stabbing into his neck and shoulders. With a roar of effort, Luffy ducked underneath his arms, wrapped his own tight around Law's upper thighs, and lifted. With a hard slam onto the floor, he drove Law into the wood, the man cursing as he lost the scalpel.

The floor collapsed underneath them at that moment, embers scattering around them. Luffy cried out with surprise as he hit hard, hot dirt, and the smoke, the _heat_ , was suffocating. Law caught himself at the edge of the broken, weakened planks, shouting aloud as he sought to escape heat and smoke as it billowed up from the basement. He scrambled for footing, fingers and hands scraping over the surface.

Penguin silently watched him struggle as Luffy screamed with agony from the basement, scrambling to find somewhere cool, to find precious air. But the floor continued to warp around Law, falling, collapsing – pulling at the walls, the counters, the floor above them.

Panicked, Law looked at Penguin for help – but the man turned to walk away, saying or doing nothing.

"You _fuck_! You traitorous _fuck_!" he screamed at him, the ceiling falling noisily around them. The upstairs medical ward began collapsing, supplies raining down with a rush of noise and force. _He couldn't escape the heat_. All at once, recognizing his peril as Luffy continued to scream, touching his legs in an effort to climb up him, Law's various personalities began to shriek – with pain, anger, horror. All different voices from one mouth.

Shadows separated from him as they tried to escape the danger.

"I want to live!" Robin cried, nails ripping over the wood. " _I want to live_!"

" _It hurts_! _It hurts_! I'm burning! _I'm burning_!" Shachi shrilled, erupting into panicked cries; a child in agony.

"Fuck you! _Fuck you_! Fuck you! I'll see you in Hell, pig!" Shiliew bellowed, long arms losing grip before falling backward.

Moments after Penguin left the medical ward, something heavy and thick plowed straight into him, causing him to fly back into the room, losing his footing. Caught entirely unprepared, he slammed off a burning support beam, being followed by the piece of wood used to take him down. He still didn't utter a sound as he was beaten into the wall, each driving force of the wood knocking sense, orientation from him. He started to reach upward, to react, but he was too slow, and effort required unused action. Every hit exploded against his head, driving hard into his jaw, his temple.

With one another drive, that piece of wood shattered the bones in his face, flinging teeth and blood into the burning wall, over the floor. He started to slump, the power around him failing, silencing. The screams from Law's direction stopped abruptly, dying with volume. The shadows disappeared as wisps of black smoke, emblazoning their last shapes into tile and wood. Then, Penguin drooped completely, and that encouraged one more drive of the weapon into his weakened skull, flattening face and ear into an unrecognizable mess.

The silence afterward was intense, save for the roar of the fire raging over and around them, Law managing to get a firm grip on the wood, feeling nothing around his legs. Seeing Penguin being destroyed by the other man gave Law some relief, seeing a way out of his hell. He couldn't hear any more screams coming from the voices that had been familiar with him, and the peace, the silence in his head overall, was such a powerful release. He clamored over the edge, pulling and struggling over the edges of tile and wood, using a too hot support joist to get his footing. Once he was up and over the warped floor, fighting for breath, he felt helping hands on his shirt and arm, yanking him from the collapsed section of the ward.

But before he could get a breath, say anything, he was forcefully pulled up and slammed hard into immovable surface, head bouncing violently against the nearest bedframe. Though the mattress had burned halfway, melting material into the metal, he was awkwardly placed against the bottom supports, and leather whispered as the restraining straps, still attached to the bed, were pulled and latched over him. Recognizing that he was being strapped down, heavy disorientation making it difficult for him to understand the action, Law struggled to settle his coughing, to get breath.

He looked at his captor with wide-eyed surprise, horror, understanding that he was going to die. Terror at dying, trying to understand why he was there in the first place, ravaged his features. All around him, the sanatorium burned, collapsing noisily, with loud crashes and cracks of wood.

In front of him, Ace struggled to breathe. Most of his hair had been burned away from his face and head, skin melted into his clothing. But he rested against Law, struggling to find strength. Half of his back was blackened, skin stretched and peeled away to expose the brilliant red of his muscle, fat. But he had strength to feel relief, _satisfaction_ , after everything he'd been through with Law, being that _he_ was the only one standing. He'd successfully eliminated the pair that had caused the staff, the group, such terror and grief; at the cost of losing everyone, but at least Law and Penguin couldn't kill anyone else. It would end here.

With a fiercely twisted expression, he laughed as he saw that Law understood his fate.


	13. Chapter 13

Alasse-M: Hopefully this chapter clears up those questions! But I'd rethink that happy ending ;) Ace came through in a pinch, when he was needed the most

DedicatedFan: I had to go back and rewrite that bit - it wasn't very clear, so maybe it sounds a little better, now! But Ace was glad that, between them, *he was the only one left standing, and Law wasn't. He won.

 **A/N** : This fic has ended on Friday the 13th! It was already completed, but what a coincidence to end on this exact date :D Hopefully this chapter clarifies all things and leaves a bit to the imagination. Hopefully, it leaves a reader with ugly feelings. Yessss...ugly **ugly** feelings, like a horror story should... Leave a comment, let me know what you think!

: 13 :

"Monsters don't get to leave," Ace said, his voice winded, thin.

The heat was unbearable. The very air stung as Law breathed, and he coughed, drawing his hands up to try and cover himself. But the straps held tight, and he struggled, panic and horror flaring to life. He shouted with desperate horror. Without saying anything else, Ace began to drag the bed towards the hole where Law and Luffy had fallen into, intending on dumping him in. The legs dragged noisily, tilted over, and the bed caught on some debris, tilting downward at such an angle that Law thought for sure he'd go over.

But Ace then collapsed over him, and slumped to the floor. Struggling to quell the fright that raced through him at dying in this manner – _dying at all_ – Law felt all the denial and fear rise up in his throat, being trapped there by his hacking coughs. The air burned, searing his lungs, and his eyes stung. If he moved too hard, the bed shifted a little, threatening to dump him over the edge of that hole. The scrape of sound the legs made eked out over the roar of flame overhead, over the ominous grown of weakening wood. He tried to look up to see what was happening there, but the rising and building smoke around him made it impossible.

He could only lay there, filled with utter fear, mind shattered by the rising understanding of the unfairness of losing half his life to the action of another person. To be blamed for the blood on his hands, for finally reaching peace when they were gone – only to die painfully. He struggled to shout, but that took up precious air, and his lungs refused to give him that power. He couldn't remember if anyone were still around to call out, to. The bed creaked, shifting slightly as the floor gave a slight shudder. Something heavy crashed downward, and that caused another plume of smoke that covered the last of the daylight that was exposed by the broken section of the east wing.

He shouted with fright and remorse, various images of his past hitting him at that moment. Tears of mounting defeat and disbelief in that his life had to end this way dried quickly once they rolled down his smoke, dirt covered face. It was too hot. His skin itched, burning – _everything was burning_. But even as death came for him, his life started to play over the sight of building flames, of thick, black smoke.

He saw pictures of himself as a child, being cared for by Rosinante, flashes of Sengoku's visits to their house immediately laid over by rough flashing of other moments in his life that led up to the Vinsmoke birthday party. Of Buggy forcing them to watch as he took apart John, of forcing both him and Penguin to participate. He remembered the aching, heavy weight of survivor's guilt, that wretched helplessness in being unable to fight Buggy tormenting his every thought. He saw the time when Penguin quietly asked him if he'd join him in using the spirit board, to beg John for forgiveness for helping Buggy kill him. Law remembered feeling scared and awed when someone answered them, when the candles blew out and all they heard was a man's labored breathing, the air vibrating with heat and anger. When that man spoke to them in broken sentences, when it became Buggy, they ended the session too late.

Law then remembered when he started acknowledging the different voices in his mind, telling him secrets about those around him. Sengoku's work secrets, Rosinante's personal experiences, his friend Sanji's terrible abuse, Penguin's fading sanity. The closer he stood to someone, the more Law could 'hear' them, their thoughts plucked out of them. Law remembered desperately asking God to help him, to give him strength to ignore those voices, those moving shapes from the corners of his eyes. Buggy's voice murmured to him from time to time, promising vengeance for his own incapacitated helplessness, to those that treated him wrongly. His ghost warped both him and Law into messes that their own family could not ignore; but no one believed them when they spoke of what was happening to them. The idea of a ghost returning to haunt them was too much of a tall tale for anyone to accept. So they suffered; both with the guilt, and with fear. Too much of it built over time.

Law remembered when Penguin stopped talking – it was two years later, and Penguin just wasn't himself, anymore; he was a terrible person that spoke like Buggy and burned with hate because of the things that Buggy made him do. Law found himself unable to get away from him – it was as if Buggy and Penguin were holding Law from the inside, _suffocating_ him. This terrible thing, this demon, vengeful ghost – _whatever_ it was, it took them apart after they called it out from the spirit world, looking for John. Warped them, tortured them over the layers of pain and fear that they'd already cast over themselves.

Because of these mounting things, Law remembered being looked at crazy, not being able to trust in prayer, anymore, as he 'woke up' doing something one of the voices had made him do. He remembered Rosinante's angry, shocked, frustrated looks at learning of the terrible things he'd done; no longer looking at him as if he were a person, but a burgeoning monster. Law remembered acknowledging the realization of being helpless, of not being himself anymore. Of hearing Penguin's constant voice in his head, telling him to do things that he couldn't do himself; Law wondered if Buggy completely had taken over him, for Penguin had lost all ability to even be a person, anymore. Staring off at nothing, unable to function without a prompt; a living doll that needed constant care, yet responsible for everything between them that was wrong.

Law remembered Sanji giving him code phrases so that they could talk 'in private', but even Sanji stopped talking to him when Law's voices began growing louder. He remembered giving up and sleeping for so long that when he finally woke up again, Penguin was already sentenced to a long stay at the asylum due to his catatonic state at Rosinante's insistence, but Law couldn't stop hearing Penguin call for him. Already, the different personalities that had taken root inside of him had caused him unforgivable trouble. Rosinante didn't look at him the same, anymore, and Sanji himself was so far into his own hell that nothing could reach him, anyway. His inner voice mainly focused on meals, on his appearance, and gave Law nothing to use against him; Sanji had somehow figured out how to do this, something Law was grateful for. The voices left Sanji alone, but in return, their friendship weren't the same, anymore.

Law remembered reading about all the bodies he left had supposedly behind; the prostitutes, the homeless, the animals – all of them not his doing. It had been horrifying realizing that he was considered a murderer, that God refused to answer him at all. This sensation of abandonment made him too weak to reach out for help, and he let himself go. He let the others take over.

Law remembered pieces of the jail time he served when their actions were discovered and he was under suspicion; he remembered being forced through the court process, he remembered his first day at the asylum. He remembered when Sanji ignored him, when Penguin was finally satisfied at having him close by, when Dr Smoker mentioned Akainu when talking about Apoo's progress to Dr Hina. Hearing that name rewakened that Buggy demon inside of Penguin, and Law lost control of himself, again. Those things that happened after were things he couldn't stop or help – not with Penguin so close, when it felt like his fingers were on his brain and his voice wouldn't stop whispering in his ear, encouraging the others to react. Not when they kept putting him in solitary and these voices were louder, and the shadows started to separate away from him, making their own choices, pulling back at those that tried to leave early.

And now Law was free, and he was expected to die with the rest of them. _It was unfair._

God had stopped listening to his desperate pleas a long time ago. _Abandoned_ him. If there had been one, Law was positive that he would not be here, today. He stopped shouting and regretfully accepted that he was going to die. He was going to follow after Penguin and the others, for everything his body had done. There was no escaping, anymore. Whatever it was they'd called from the spirit board, it was going to keep them for all eternity – whether it was Buggy's angry ghost or something else, their penance would start now.

It wasn't fair, but he couldn't fight it. It was just another moment where he had to take the punishment for another's action with heavy defeat.

There was a loud crash of sound, a rumble as wood groaned, and embers fluttered around him, burning him. Most of the fire that burned overhead suddenly grew in force and stretched into another direction, like a massive fist going nowhere. Heat and smoke followed in a flurry, finding oxygen. For a moment, Law smelled fresh air. It was beautiful. The floor underneath him creaked and protested, and he heard more of it fall with a tremendous bang.

Then he felt cool hands on his face.

"Don't worry – you'll be forgiven once you get there."

It wasn't much, but Law felt a sliver of hope because _someone else_ felt it for him. He looked over his side in time to see Sanji standing there, too out of it to acknowledge the flames around him. He was dirty and disheveled, hair blackened with smoke, bloodied with ripped clothing on the shoulder, but clearly, the pills he'd hidden away had rendered him a vague-minded mess. He patted Law's forehead with one hand, then turned and wandered away; a sleepwalking skeleton.

Not even moments after that, two men pushed into the ward, clearly struggling to see, breathe, shouting – their voices lost in the roar of the fire. But once they saw him, they grabbed Sanji. One look from one of them told Law that they weren't going to bother saving him. The three of them made it back outside as the floor creaked and snapped, and began to collapse under the weight of the weakening supports. Embers flew upward, sparkling around him like glowing fairies.

Seeing that Sanji was rescued gave Law a little comfort. Not _all_ of them would perish, today. The spirit of Buggy would not win.

The rest of the mansion began to collapse around him, trembling noisily before snapping, burning weight falling inward as the floor gave away. At that moment, Law closed his eyes and let go.

: :

A few days later, Sanji opened his eyes. It hurt to breathe. _Everything_ hurt. But as his mind uncurled from the heavy drowsiness of sleep, head aching with powerful pain, he started registering things slowly. Still under the intense impression of hiding his thoughts from that dangerous person, _Penguin_ , he thought of breakfast. Of 'safe' food, of excuses to give if the nurses argued with him. Even as his emotions and memory roiled, remembering that people were dying around him under the hands of a vicious killer, spiking his heart into a hard pounding panic, he had to keep his secrets, safe.

"Ah, you made it," came the relieved voice from his left, and he found difficulty turning his head to look. Once he saw it was Ichiji, he felt frozen hard weight in his chest. Inwardly, he felt dismayed and horrified that he was still alive, that he had been able to walk away. "You don't have to move. Just rest."

Sanji's jaw stiffened. Every part of him went rigid, tensing painfully. It took a few moments for him to see that the hospital room was large, spacious – there were large, comfortable chairs around his bed, and empty plates on one table. There was a blanket folded over one chair, and a jacket abandoned on another. Books near Ichiji, the spines reading of business and marketing strategies, arithmetic, and a much thinner one; a journal, maybe.

At that moment, he wished with all his might he had taken all those pills. A short memory showed him only taking five, spilling the rest. Hazy spots of Luffy's worried face, of building fire. Nothing more than that. Everything was only a roaring blur of blackened nothing – his voice refused to work for him as he tentatively allowed himself to wonder about the others.

"All of them perished in the fire," Ichiji told him, shifting his chair. Sanji had to wonder if he'd relayed his thoughts out loud to that answer. His older brother reached for a nearby pitcher and cup.

At that moment, Sanji remembered Luffy taking the keys from him. He took a measured sip of water, but rejected the rest. His mind already definite about measurements, allowances, and a reluctance to accept anything from Ichiji's mouth.

"Dr Hina was relieved that Trafalgar's burned carcass was found," Ichiji then said, setting the cup aside. "Apparently, she blames him for the fire. She wants to talk to you when you're more rested, and so does the head investigator from the police station. Apparently, the sanatorium was going through a serious situation – rumor is, that son of Rosinante's was killing everyone. Is that so?"

Sanji refused to answer him. He knew it was Penguin's fault. He knew that Law, the one he knew from a long time ago, would never have done those things. But after years of knowing what the pair were capable of, his mind refused to delve into it. He wondered if the food served here were prepared by the hospital staff, or from their family's. he started to inwardly measure just how much he could eat, today, and tomorrow.

He could feel his brother's stare upon him. So Sanji looked at him, feeling intensely weary already. Guilt, shame, disgust – all of it was heaping over his thoughts of food.

"Will Dr Hina transfer me to another facility?" he asked, his voice rough and scratchy from smoke damage. Almost a hard whisper. It hurt to breathe.

Ichiji frowned at him. He resettled back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. For a few moments, he said nothing.

"Father gave me some power of authority – limited, of course, but he entrusts that any decision I make on your behalf will be one he'll respect," Ichiji said. "I was able to secure a house of my own on the other side of the island. I have already arranged for a small number of staff and interns for your care."

"No."

"He will not visit that house."

" _No_."

Ichiji's lips thinned.

"I can make my own decisions," Sanji said stubbornly. "I refuse to be entrusted to anyone within the family."

"Unfortunately, I can overrule that. Dr Hina has already mentioned that your position demands outside responsibility. You are unable to make decisions for yourself, due to your inability to take care of yourself. She had already removed patient files from the sanatorium before the fire, and yours clearly demands that you continue to receive further care. Father had no arguments when I mentioned that I can take responsibility."

"No one can make those decisions for me, unless – "

"It's already been decided. Power of authority was given to me upon father's permission. The papers were already submitted. When you are well enough to move, you will be transferred to that house. Dr Hina agreed to it – she doesn't think you'll thrive very well in the facility she had intended on transferring the others, to. She will work with us. Sanji," Ichiji said with gentle insistence, "let us take care of you. Niji and Yonji had decided on it, as well. With us, surely – "

"I can't spend another minute in your company," Sanji interrupted him stiffly, feeling all those overwhelming feelings of anxiety and terror building over his meal worries, filtering into his voice. His face reddened, and he was distraught over the sensation of tears building. Overwhelming stress and terror built with strength, and he struggled to breathe without that tremble in his voice – using Dr Smoker's strategy of counting down from twenty to regain control, again.

Ichiji waited for those moments, watching as Sanji blinked rapidly, as the shake in his hands subsided. But he was firm, unfolding his arms to shift in his chair again.

"Let us take care of you, the way you did for us," he said softly.

Sanji stilled, then looked at him with a frozen expression.

Ichiji's stern frown had fallen away. Remorse and shamed crossed over his face, and he looked away from his younger brother. "Dr Hina let me look over that file. Dr Smoker's notes…gave away those things father did to you."

" _Don't talk about it._ "

Ichiji tightened his mouth. But he obeyed Sanji's stiff command. That weight increased in Sanji's chest, rebuilt over his mind. He had to struggle to breathe again, to fight that rising wave of nearly uncontrollable sickness that always threatened to overwhelm him when he strayed from his thoughts.

Somewhere, deep inside, he heard himself chuckle. A curious weight began to burn with a surprising amount of heat that strengthened him. He loosened his fists, unaware that he was making them.

For several silent minutes, the pair just sat in their respective places, lost in thought. Sanji struggled to remember anything more of that day, but all he remembered were the bits and pieces were he refused to help anyone. He thought he'd feel guilt about it, knowing that they were desperate to escape, but he refused to be close to anyone. It was safer to isolate himself from others. Years of keeping to himself had given him the strength to continue living, even if it had trapped him in his own hell. It was easier to protect himself when no one else had.

' _God is listening when you ask for Him_ ,' he remembered a younger Law telling him gently.

So why didn't He listen to you? Sanji asked that memory bitterly.

 _I didn't talk to Him enough_ , he heard Law answer. _I said all the wrong things_.

That wasn't right, Sanji thought, brow furrowing. At that time in their life, he remembered Law carrying the bible in his school bag. Wearing a cross. Attending church diligently.

 _Maybe I just wasn't a good boy, anyway_ , Law chuckled.

Sanji found himself wondering where _that_ voice was coming from, when the right memory wasn't accompanying it. For a moment, he wondered if he even heard it at all. Maybe he was still suffering the effects of the barbituates, imagining things.

"We'll make it right, somehow," Ichiji said suddenly, startling Sanji out of his thoughts. "We can start over. Quietly, I'll take more of father's power, and keep you entrusted to me. He won't be able to hurt you again."

Sanji looked at him suspiciously. Ichiji wasn't looking at him, still wearing a troubled expression. Admittedly, Sanji had never seen his brother's face wearing that emotion when it came to him.

 _Don't trust him. They always lie. They'll sign away your rights as if you were only property. Rosinante stopped caring. Look what happened to me_.

"Damage has already been done," he said stiffly. "I hate all of you."

Ichiji's lips tightened – not with anger. But with regret.

"And we deserve it. But…your brothers and I want to…somehow make it up, to you. If we had known father was doing those things to you, we wouldn't have just - !"

 _They ain't gonna do anything for you. They just wanna cause more trouble_!

At the feel of a strong, determined surge of anger, Sanji snapped, "I don't want to talk about it! I don't want you near me! I don't want _any_ of you near me!"

"I understand that this will be tough, at first, but we're committed," Ichiji insisted, finally making eye contact with him. "Niji, Yonji – we're doing this. It all makes sense, now. God only knows what he was doing to Reiju – she's married, now, did you know? And she took the advantage to leave the island immediately. Like you, she said nothing to us, but I suspect that this was happening to her, too! Her apathy now makes sense!"

 _I wonder what was served at the wedding? Good food? Dessert?_

Sanji said nothing as his stomach growled at the thought of food. In the fit of his feelings and thoughts, there was the faint sound of machinery starting up in the distance. He wondered what it was. He started to worry over what the nurses would bring to him – maybe he could use the excuse of his throat pain to refuse most of the food. Unconsciously, his fingers flit to his wrists. They could still overlap, and he felt relief that he hadn't lost that much control.

 _Write it down on paper. Paper is safe_.

Like _they_ will understand me, Sanji thought bitterly. But he was a little confused, because this bitterness felt odd. It had the weight of something else, entirely, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

 _I can tell they're lying_.

"It's getting hot in here, I'm opening the window," Ichiji then said, leaving the chair to do so. Sanji saw him move from the corner of his eye, but he had to look again when it looked like two people had stood up from the chair.

It was the effects of the pills he'd taken, he supposed, that made him see faint shadows. Stress, the trauma of surviving an ugly ordeal and placed into a new one.

In the back of his mind, he heard himself chuckle again, but it was a faint sound. And it didn't sound like his voice. He thought he had heard it somewhere, but his memories weren't cooperating with him. They felt too scattered, too vague. Maybe in a few more days, his mind would settle back down again, and he could speak his own thoughts.

Ichiji opened the window, and the smell of fresh air made Sanji feel as if he hadn't breathed it in awhile. It felt good to breathe, again. It felt like he hadn't breathed in so long, that he inhaled deeply of it.

He looked around himself. For as large as the room was, it felt too crowded. It felt as if there were too many people looking at him, and he felt self-conscious, all of a sudden. He felt _wrong_. But he felt it was only because of this thing Ichiji was forcing on him, and he thought it was only his discomfort in being forced to agree.

Mind fuzzy, he looked away, to focus on the wall to his right. He was tired, but he felt hot, inside. Whatever that machine was, it continued to churn. A constant whirring of power, a faint buzz of sound that seemed as if it crept behind his thoughts, warped his words. It had to be the pills. Why weren't they flushed from his system, yet?

 _Stupid_.

"Get some rest," Ichiji said, moving to the door. "I'll send the nurse over to check on you. There's some paperwork I'll need to complete."

"You'll be gone for the rest of the day?" Sanji asked curiously.

"Yes. But Niji or Yonji will be here – maybe within an hour." Ichiji paused at the door. "Father has no reason to visit you. He will not show up unexpectedly."

"I wasn't asking about that."

"Sanji. I vow to you that he will never hurt you again," Ichiji said low. "Trust in us to do this."

 _He's telling the truth. He's telling you the truth_.

Sanji ignored that, looking off to the side. He reached up to fiddle with his right ear; there was something about that machinery in the distance that made his ear canal itch. It was irritating. When he saw he wasn't going to get anything more from Sanji, Ichiji left with a quiet closing of the door.

Sanji stared at the faint glare coming from the window. For a few moments, he felt vague, lost in some thoughts that he couldn't see clearly. He wished he could remember more of what happened in the sanatorium, if he'd taken those pills to kill himself, or just to drown out the noise. Why hadn't he taken them all when he had the chance? He could've been one of the corpses pulled from the remains of the building, and that would've been the end of it.

 _Because I'm not done_.

He realized he was mumbling a prayer for protection, nervously checking the width of his wrists, suddenly aware that something was _wrong_. Something was very wrong with him.

He just wasn't aware of what it was.


End file.
